Proposed changes to the Canada's immigration law might yet trigger an election. At least that's what it sounds like as the Conservatives insist the that bill will not be changed:

Liberal Leader Stephane Dion questioned why the government was digging in its heels in the face of vocal concerns and just as the legislation was to be debated by a Commons committee.

"The government will look ridiculous if they are saying we'll have hearings, we'll listen to testimony and at the very beginning they don't want to change anything," Dion said in an interview.

"It's ridiculous to say we're listening and to say we're not open to any change," Dion said. "We have a lot of concerns. The bill, as it is, we will not support it."

Immigration department officials say the changes would enable the government to be more flexible in meeting changing labour demands in Canada.

We will not support it.

Does that mean an election? Hardly.

Stephane Dion did not say, "We will vote against it."

And Stephane Dion certainly did not say, "We will keep this bill from becoming law."

In the first case, the suggestion would be that there would be an election, though it would be stronger if Dion said, "We will all vote against it."

Certainly the second phrasing leaves no room for any interpretation than an election.

But all Stephane Dion said was that the Liberals would not support it. That means they won't vote for it. It doesn't mean they'll vote against it. I smell another mass abstention coming.

The fact that he left himself that much wiggle room must have been deeply disappointing to many Liberals. Of course, many others were buoyed by Stephane Dion's seemingly tough talk:

My recommendation is that Liberals get ready for a fight. Once this man has made a decision, he doesn't tend to change it.

I guess that was the point -- to fool them and keep them happy, at least for a while.

It's funny, but I myself thought Stephane Dion had painted himself and the Liberal Party into a corner, and that an election was coming. That is until I thought carefully about what he actually said. You know Conservative and NDP strategists picked up on that subtlety immediately.

Which means the likelihood is that we can add immigration to the list that includes the environment, Kyoto, the Afghanistan mission extension, and the GST. This is the list of very important issues that the Liberals cannot support.

Once the business of not supporting the Conservatives is over, Stephane Dion can sit down and study the polls, looking for signs that Liberal support is magically restored and strong enough that anyone leading the Liberal Party could win it. Even Stephane Dion.

In the mean time, expect a more "non-support".

Lack of support noted.

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