Angry in the Great White North

Mauril Belanger has had enough. The Liberal MP has argued that the Liberals under Stephane Dion ought to bring down the Conservative government led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and force an election. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's mini-budget, with its GST reduction, is unacceptable.

And Ottawa-Vanier MP Mauril Belanger, said another MP, was "hot under the collar" about the mini-budget, which he called "simply about garnering short-term votes." Mr. Belanger argued strongly during the closed-door meeting against supporting the mini-budget, telling Mr. Dion that he would vote against it.

"Mauril wants to vote against it, but I think we're united as a caucus," one MP said. "Lots of us don't like it, but we'll support the leader."

How can a government bribe the people to vote for it unless it taxes the people in order to collect the money with which to bribe them with?

Er, well...in any case, the Liberals didn't like the budget but Stephane Dion ordered the caucus to abstain. The Liberals can't fight an election right now. To be more accurate, the Liberals can't fight an election right now and hope that Stephane Dion can survive as leader in the aftermath.

For some reason, though, Belanger isn't too concerned with Stephane Dion's future. Mauril Belanger expressed his disdain for Stephane Dion by not bothering to show up for the whipped vote on the mini-budget:

Ottawa Liberal MP Mauril Belanger defied an order from his leader this week by failing to show up in the House of Commons to abstain on the Harper government's mini-budget. And so far, Mr. Belanger is facing no consequences for his actions. Nor is he expecting to.

"At no time was I threatened in any way shape or form ... by anyone, leader, caucus colleagues, by anyone," he said yesterday. "I make my own decisions of my own free will and my decision to step outside the House [on Wednesday] was just that ... that's it.

"It was my choice and my way of expressing myself."

His choice? Really? Just decided on his own not to show up? Not part of a bigger story?

Mauril Belanger was an organizer for Liberal leadership contender Michael Ignatieff. What if after the whipping, Mauril Belanger was sent out to test the waters? The result of Belanger's defiance? Nothing happened:

No one else is expecting Mr. Belanger to be punished, either. As one Liberal MP put it, "What can they do to him?"

As [the vote on Jim Flaherty's mini-budget] was a vote of confidence, the Liberal vote was whipped. Liberal MPs were told to abstain. Usually, a member who defies a whipped vote is punished by being denied a trip or even by being thrown out of the caucus.

So far, however, Mr. Belanger is safe. So much so that his actions and the Liberal leadership's response have become a bit of a joke. Some political staffers were laughing after Wednesday's vote, saying Mr. Belanger abstained from the Dion abstention.

So now Liberal MPs know they are safe if they openly defy Stephane Dion, who clearly is neither feared nor respected by the Liberal caucus members. More importantly, Michael Ignatieff knows that now. The funny thing is, after the disastrous Liberal showing in the Quebec by-elections, it was Mauril Belanger who openly called for some changes:

Some Liberals have suggested that Dion needs to make urgent changes in the way he handles communications and fundraising, where his party is being badly out-financed by the Tories.

Another Liberal MP agreed that it's time for a few changes.

"This is a tough break," said Ottawa-area MP Mauril Belanger. "But this could be good for us if it helps us make some adjustments in time for the next elections."

Of the MPs who spoke to criticize the Liberal Party performance in the by-elections and put the blame at the feet of Stephane Dion, Mauril Belanger was the only one I know of who allowed his remarks to be attributed to him.

I wonder what sort of adjustments Mauril Belanger is hoping will happen. And I wonder if we'll see other Ignatieff supporters stepping out of line.

Could Michael Ignatieff be behind this? Of course he could. But he doesn't need to be. A bunch of MPs who would like to see a change could be doing this on their own. And with the state of Liberal Party discipline being what it is, there is little Stephane Dion can do about it.