Friday, May 20, 2005
A chip off the old rock
All politics is local. It now seems that the two Conservative MPs who voted with their party - Loyola Hearn and Norman Doyle - will soon find this out. When an election is called, many local political observers believe the MPs will pay for not supporting their constiuents (and the Atlantic Accord) and instead siding with their party.
The Conservatives voted to support Bill C-43, the main budget bill, which included the Atlantic accord. But they voted en masse against Bill C-48, the NDP amendment to the budget. Defeating the second motion would have toppled the government and delayed the accord.
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams, a Conservative, had tried to convince Hearn and Doyle to allow the accord to pass. In a statement released after the vote, Williams welcomed the final result.
Michael Temelini, a political science professor at Memorial, says there's a lot of history in this province of members of Parliament being punished when they refuse or neglect Newfoundland, and I'm afraid that Norman Doyle and Loyola Hearn may in fact suffer.
The Conservatives voted to support Bill C-43, the main budget bill, which included the Atlantic accord. But they voted en masse against Bill C-48, the NDP amendment to the budget. Defeating the second motion would have toppled the government and delayed the accord.
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams, a Conservative, had tried to convince Hearn and Doyle to allow the accord to pass. In a statement released after the vote, Williams welcomed the final result.
Michael Temelini, a political science professor at Memorial, says there's a lot of history in this province of members of Parliament being punished when they refuse or neglect Newfoundland, and I'm afraid that Norman Doyle and Loyola Hearn may in fact suffer.
# posted by Shaky @ 7:02 p.m. 
