canada is the best but those fucking americans can die fuck sakes they should leave my country and stop bombing my people by a minority government in Canada since the budget presented by the minority government led by Joe Clark in 1979. The defeat of that budget led to an election in which Clark's Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was defeated. A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed by the leading political party when it has won a plurality but not a majority of seats in the parliament. ... The Right Honourable Charles Joseph Clark, PC , CC , AOE , MA , LL.D (born June 5, 1939) was the sixteenth prime minister of Canada from June 4, 1979, to March 2, 1980. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC) was a Canadian centre-right conservative political party that existed from 1867 to 2003. ...

Having fewer than half the seats in the Canadian House of Commons meant that the governing Liberal Party of Canada had to win the support of members of other parties for the 2005 budget to pass. Without that support, the budget would be defeated, and new elections would likely be called. The House of Commons (French: Chambre des communes) is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign (represented by the Governor General) and the Senate. ... The Liberal Party of Canada (French: Parti libéral du Canada), colloquially known as the Grits (originally Clear Grits), is a Canadian federal political party positioned around the centre of the political spectrum, combining a generally progressive social policy with moderate economics. ...

In the 2005-06 fiscal year, the government faced a large surplus of expected revenues over expenses, meaning that the government would be able to fund a wide array of new initiatives.

The budget bill (C-43) received Royal Assent on June 28, 2005. Controversial amendments (Bill C-48) made to the budget to gain the support of the New Democratic Party (NDP) were also given assent three weeks later following considerable debate. The New Democratic Party (NDP) is a political party in Canada with a social democratic philosophy and moderate democratic socialist tendencies. ...

Details of the budget

The budget was the eighth balanced budget in a row presented by the Liberal government. The budget contained minor tax cuts for both businesses and individuals over the next five years. These cuts, however, would mostly come in the latter years of the five-year period, which means that the majority of them would likely not occur before a new election is held.

The personal income tax cut offered will raise the basic personal exemption to $10,000 from its present level of just over $8,000 over the next five years. This will mean an average tax savings of $16 for each Canadian in 2006 with the final total reaching $192 several years down the road. However, the basic personal exemption is already indexed to inflation and, therefore, would be scheduled to rise to roughly $9,000 over the next several years in any case.

The budget also contained $12.7 billion for the Department of National Defence over the next five years. However, not all of this money is new funding and, as with most of the budget, it is back-loaded. The total new funding for 2006 will be $500 million. The Department of National Defence, frequently referred to by its acronym DND, is the department within the government of Canada with responsibility for Canadas military, the Canadian Armed Forces. ...

Start-up money was provided for Canada's efforts to comply with the Kyoto Accord and for a national child care program. Additional funding was provided for cities, health care, and foreign aid. Earth as seen by Apollo 17 The Kyoto Protocol is an amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an international treaty on global warming. ... Childcare is the act of caring for and supervising minor children. ...

Some cuts were made. The Air Travel Complaints Commissioner was abolished, and foreign aid to Thailand, Malaysia, and all countries now in the European Union was ended. In total, $11 billion in savings are expected.

Initial response by opposition parties

The Conservative Party, the largest opposition party, surprised many by announcing that it would support the budget immediately after it was read in the House of Commons. Party leader Stephen Harper described it as "better than expected", and described its focus on tax cuts and defence spending as being in line with Conservative policy. It is highly unusual for the official opposition to vote in favour of the government's budget. However, Harper later changed his position on the budget, and his party joined with the NDP and the Bloc Québécois in the largest abstention in Canadian history. The Conservative Party of Canada (French: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a right-of-centre political party in Canada, formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in December 2003. ... Stephen Harper (born April 30, 1959) is the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. ... Her Majestys Loyal Opposition (French: LOpposition Loyale de Sa Majesté) in Canada is usually the largest parliamentary opposition party in the Canadian House of Commons that is not in government either on its own or as part of a governing coalition. ... The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada that is devoted to the promotion of sovereignty for Quebec. ...

The Bloc Québécois and party leader Gilles Duceppe, who were demanding an overhaul to employment insurance and the elimination of the fiscal imbalance, voted against the budget. Gilles Duceppe Gilles Duceppe, M.P. (born July 22, 1947 in Montreal) is a Quebec nationalist and social democratic politician in Canada. ... Unemployment benefits are sums of money given to the unemployed by the government or a compulsory para-governmental insurance system. ... Fiscal imbalance (in French, déséquilibre fiscal) is the term used in Canada to describe a monetary imbalance between the Canadian federal government and the provincial governments. ...

The New Democratic Party voted against the budget on first reading. Leader Jack Layton agreed with Harper that it was a "conservative budget" and was especially critical of the corporate tax cuts and the limited new funding for social programs. The Hon. ...

Changes following the Liberal-NDP deal

Prior to the second reading the political situation changed dramatically due to Jean Brault's explosive testimony at the Gomery Inquiry. Stephen Harper announced that the Liberals had lost the moral authority to govern and vowed to bring down the government. Thus when the budget came to its second reading, with the Conservatives rallied against it. To survive the Liberals struck a deal with the NDP for a reduction of the foreseen corporate tax cuts and $4.6 billion in spending on social programs. The additional bill to implement these measures was dubbed the "NDP budget" by the official opposition. Jean Brault was the president of Groupaction, a Montreal advertising firm implicated in the Canadian sponsorship scandal. ... The Gomery Commission, formally the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities, is a federal Canadian commission headed by the retired Justice John Gomery for the purpose of investigating the sponsorship scandal, which involves allegations of corruption within the Canadian government. ...

Despite the NDP support, the government remained in a precarious position requiring the support of all three independent Members of Parliament (MPs). On May 17, Conservative MP Belinda Stronach crossed the floor to the Liberals, giving them a crucial extra vote. Soon after, the Liberal polling numbers ended their slide and began to recover. Two Conservative MPs from Newfoundland and Labrador, Loyola Hearn and Norman Doyle, were also pressured by provincial premier Danny Williams -- to vote in favour of the budget, as it included the provisions of the government's recent Atlantic Accords. The Conservatives eventually announced that they would vote in favour of the main budget bill, containing the Atlantic Accord, but would vote against the second bill containing the NDP amendments. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ... May 17 is the 137th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (138th in leap years). ... The Hon. ... In politics, crossing the floor is to vote against party lines. ... Motto: Quaerite Prime Regnum Dei (Latin: Seek ye first the kingdom of God) Official languages None Capital St. ... Hon. ... Norman E. Doyle (born November 11, 1945 in Avondale, Newfoundland and Labrador) is a Canadian politician. ... The Honourable Danny Williams, Q.C. , LL.B. , BA (born August 4, 1950 in St. ...

Voting in the House of Commons

After Stronach's move, the government could count on the same number of votes as the opposition: the Liberals, the NDP and independent MP Carolyn Parrish supported the budget, while the Conservatives and the Bloc opposed it. The fate of the government then hung on the voting choices of the other two independent MPs: David Kilgour and Chuck Cadman. The government needed the support of at least one of the two. Mark Critch (left), Carolyn Parrish (right) and a Bush doll, in a skit that led to her dismissal from the Liberal caucus. ... Hon. ... Chuck Cadman Charles Chuck Cadman, (February 21, 1948 – July 9, 2005) was a Canadian politician. ...

On May 19, votes were held for second reading of Bill C-43 (the main budget) and Bill C-48 (the amendments). The main budget bill passed on a vote of 250 to 54, with only the Bloc Québécois voting against. The second bill received a vote of 152 Yea and 152 Nay. The Conservatives and Bloc Québécois voted against second reading, while the Liberals and NDP voted in favour. Conservative MP Darrel Stinson was unable to attend the vote due to cancer surgery, so Liberal MP Peter Adams agreed to sit out as a courtesy. Independent MP Kilgour voted against the budget, while Parrish and Cadman voted in favour. In the event of a tied vote, the Speaker is required to cast the tie-breaking vote. According to Parliamentary procedure, the Speaker is required to vote, whenever possible, for the continuation of debate. Thus, the Speaker voted in favour of second reading, "to allow the House time for further debate so that it can make its own decision at some future time." May 19 is the 139th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (140th in leap years). ... Darrel Stinson is a Canadian politician representing the Okanagan—Shuswap for the Conservative Party of Canada. ... The Honourable Peter Adams, PC , BA, M.Sc, Ph. ...

After this vote, the Conservatives admited their defeat and backed away from their pledge to bring down the government. On June 14, a series of 16 votes were held pertaining to the budget: one for concurring in the committee report for Bill C-43 and dozens of amendments and other motions. As many as 15 were considered confidence votes and could have triggered an election if one was lost. Several opposition members were absent. The government won each vote, virtually guaranteeing that no election would be held in the summer of 2005. [1] June 14 is the 165th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (166th in leap years), with 200 days remaining. ...

Two days later, Bill C-43 was finally passed, and moved to the Senate. Meanwhile, the NDP amendments came out of committee and debate was launched.

On June 23, the House voted to extend the session into the summer to deal with C-48 and with the same-sex marriage bill (Bill C-38). Then, in a late-night session after several Conservative members had already left the house, the Liberals, NDP, and Bloc voted to invoke closure on the debate. The Liberals and NDP then voted in favour of passing Bill C-48, defeating the Conservatives and Bloc by a margin of 5 votes. The outcome upset Conservative MPs, and left the same-sex marriage bill as the only major business to be dealt with during the extended session in the House. It, too, was passed on June 28, allowing the House to call a recess. June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... The Civil Marriage Act (full title: An Act respecting certain aspects of legal capacity for marriage for civil purposes) was introduced as Bill C-38 in the first session of the 38th Canadian Parliament on February 1, 2005. ... In parliamentary procedure, cloture (pr: KLO-cher) (also called closure) is a motion or process aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. ... (Some entries on this page have been duplicated on August 1. ...

The bills moved to the Senate. Bill C-43 was still in committee hearing stage on the morning of June 28, but Liberal senators rushed the bill through the legislative process all day, allowing it to receive Royal Assent before the day was over.

Bill C-48 was more controversial, but continual invocations of closure stopped what might have been a filibuster by the Opposition, and on July 20, it, along with four other controversial government bills, were passed, allowing the Senate to enter into recess. They all received Royal Assent within the day. July 20 is the 201st day (202nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 164 days remaining. ...

See also

• Canadian federal spending, 2004

Canadian federal spending, 2004, comprises the revenues and expenditures of the Government of Canada in the 2004-2005 fiscal year (April 1, 2004 to March 31, 2005). ...

External links

• Department of Finance - Budget 2005 speech text
• Transcript of Parliamentary proceedings surrounding second reading of Bills C-43 and C-48