Here's the scenario. You're an opposition party in the federal House of Commons in Canada right now, where, as everyone knows, there's a Conservative Party of Canada minority government. The Conservatives are going to introduce a whole bunch of legislation that nobody in opposition is going to like when the house reconvenes in April.
Now you have enough votes that you could defeat them in the house on any vote you so desire, but that could also be seen as non-confidence vote. The last thing anybody wants to do right away is have another election. Being the one who pulled the plug on the government would cause a big backlash against your party in the next vote.
So if you don't want to have an election, but at the same time you don't want to support what the government is doing, what do you do? Well the New Democratic Party (N.D.P.) has come up with a solution. Olivia Chow, wife of party leader Jack Layton, has announced her intention to introduce national childcare legislation that would confirm the original deal that the Liberal government had worked out with the provinces.
Mr. Harper's Conservative Party had rejected that deal and made plans for their own legislation that has no support outside of his own party. Ms. Chow's proposal would receive the support of all the opposition parties, ensuring its passage into law.
The Conservatives will be faced with either scrapping their proposal or having to pay for two sets of childcare legislation. Since the latter choice would make them look ridiculous they will be forced to swallow their pride and enact the more widely supported act that the previous government had negotiated with the provinces.
Now I'm sure there will be much bleating from the right wing about the opposition subverting the democratically elected government. But they don't have a majority government and have already made it clear that they will try and force through any legislation they can.
The Conservative Party of Canada was willing to cynically take advantage of the opposition's unwillingness to call an early election by defeating them in the House. They have not shown themselves to be willing to work with the opposition, and work out compromises that would make their legislation more palatable to the opposition.
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