Fall of Canadian government could unravel Panama FTA

(PanamaNewsRoom) The fall of the Canadian government  facing sleaze allegations, could dim the hopes of Panamanians hoping for an early ratification of the Panama-Canada Free Trade Agreement.(FTA)

The country will hold  general elections for the fourth time in seven years on May 2 following the minority Conservative government's defeat in a non-confidence vote.

Stephen Harper, Prime Minister since 2006, who came to Panama to sign an FTA  asked the Governor General, on Saturday, March 26,  to dissolve parliament.

Harper's government faced opposition accusations of sleaze and mismanagement but the prime minister said that voters would be "crazy" (loco) to vote for his opponents.

He may  not have been aware of how “loco” innuendo against Ricardo Martinelli was turned around by his spin merchants to the discomfort of his opponents during the  run up to the presidential election..

Legislators in the House of Commons in Ottawa voted 156-145 to back a motion on Friday citing the government as being in contempt of parliament.

The Liberal non-confidence motion was supported by both the Bloc Quebecois and the New Democratic Party.

Earlier in the week, the government was hit with the first contempt ruling in Canada's history, with a parliamentary committee saying the Conservatives had hidden the full costs of a spending program.

Harper told journalists on Saturday that voting for the opposition "would be crazy, given the circumstances Canada faces".

Canada has weathered the economic crisis better than most Western countries but Conservatives argue that recovery would be jeopardized by a change of government.

The main opposition Liberal party has said it would scrap $6.1 billion in corporate tax cuts and end multibillion-dollar plans to buy new fighter jets and build prison cells.

Michael Ignatieff, Liberal Party leader, said Harper was "out of touch with the priorities of Canadian families. He's led a government whose record of waste, contempt and abuse of power has gone out of control”.

The FTA with Panama has been less than enthusiastically received by Harpers opponents, not happy with human rights and judicial records in the Isthmus.

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Original Source: PanamaNewsRoom

Date Retrieved: March 28, 2011