The report card is the brainchild of the Opposition Liberals who insisted, as a condition of their support for the federal budget, that the government introduce one every three months. Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has suggested that if he and his party are unhappy with the progress the government is making to stimulate Canada's economy, it might use a vote on a future report card to bring down the government and force an election.
For their part, the Conservatives said they were happy to comply with the Liberal request. As one aide said Tuesday, “This gives us one more chance to tell our story, and we think it's a good story.”
The 135-page report card was tabled Tuesday afternoon.
Liberals said they wanted to review it overnight before responding.
“But let me be positive,” said Ignatieff. “I'm delighted that the Government of Canada, the Conservative government, is taking accountability seriously.”
While the report card contains a great deal of information on how the government is arranging plans to begin the massive spending program, it contains no information on a key budget commitment: the protection or creation of 190,000 jobs.
Between November and January, 234,000 Canadians have lost their jobs and many experts have said the pace of layoffs accelerated through February . . . [Read the rest of the story]
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