CCA BULLETIN 50/08
December 8, 2008

The Political Crisis Almost Eclipses the Economic Crisis

Just the Facts

Canadians witnessed high political drama this past week as the government was challenged with a possible successful non-confidence vote on the Economic Update delivered the preceding week by the Minister of Finance, the Hon. James Flaherty. The creation of a coalition by the Liberal and New Democrat parties, supported by the Bloc Québécois, threatened to defeat the government on December 8, 2008. The political crisis has been forestalled for the time being by the prorogation by the Governor General of the first session of Parliament after a mere two weeks of business.

What does this mean for the business of government? The Prime Minister has now promised that Parliament will reconvene on January 26, 2009 and a new federal budget replete with stimulant measures will be delivered on January 27, 2009. In the meantime, Cabinet retains its full powers to make appointments and to deal with the day to day business of running the government. The main impact of the crisis for the arts and culture sector is that since there was insufficient time for the government to place legislation on the Order Paper, revisions to the Copyright Act are once again in limbo.
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