http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...hub=TopStories

It's about time. And no, Pat, I wonder when you will follow the footsteps of "dirty laundry".

Finally, a liberal with principles

The Libs and NDP ,Conservatives and Bloc cancel each other out,we're left with 4 independents to cast their votes(and they are split as well)
Very interesting .The Speaker has never been so popular

They should all sit as independants... the Lib are corrupt, the PC's are bigots and the NDP will ruin the country...
the Green Party never looked so good!

Perhaps Flyertalk should field a party ?

...and call it the Goat Party!

Pat O'Brien said:

Do you agree with him?

It seems this is the case a lone person who can't get what he wants and felt he could have greater leverage seating as an independent given the current state of the Parliament. In other words, I think he is trying to take the Government hostage over this issue like Kilgour. But like the Alberta MP, after he got what he wanted over Sudan, O'Brien (and Kilgoure) still acted like a scorpion.

Mr. O'Brien doesn't want the Parliament to vote on this bill because he knows it will pass by a landslide as per the two previous votes, around 25~30 votes margin. How democratic of him? And we can have witness hearings till 2010 and he will still say there aren't enough hearings. This is filibuster to its best. I failed to see the need of continuing the debate when most of the MPs and most of the parties' leaderships have openly endorsed the bill. What we will hear is religious extremists continue to express venom after venom, linking gay marriage to sex with children and sex with animal (and they did) or prostitutes. And they wonder why they got a less than polite rebute from Real Menard, the Bloc MP and Chair who sits on that committee (he is openly gay). Now Mr. O'Brien is complaining about the 'treatment of the witnesses'. They got what they deserved.

What happens if Duceppe resigns his seat to run for the PQ leadership?The balance changes again.

I think you are just afraid the full truth will get out and destroy your wet dream.

Good question, it would but on paper, it wouldn't change much. It's only 1 seat and with Cadman who can swing both ways, there is no certainty how he would vote during a non-confidence vote. It is possible that O'Brien will demand significant concessions on the issue of Bill-38 as a bargain chip for his support to any non-confidence vote for Paul Martin. I doubt Mr. O'Brien would state that openly, at least not yet. Until there is another non-confidence on the horizon, he will remain behind the scene, trying to negotiate favors from Paul Martin. Right now, by sitting as an independent, he is merely posturing himself for that eventually. However, if Bill C-38 is passed before a non-confidence vote can be brought up by the opposition, then O'Brien might have just digged its own grave by making the Government more determined than ever to pass C-38. Right now, nobody has the stomach for a non-confidence vote - the Conservatives are in the middle of Grewal's stupid tape scandal (alledgedly doctored the tape and G&M reported today that he might even have fixed the placement of certain sentences to make Tim Murphy looking as though he is coaching Grewal). The Bloc may lose their leader very soon to Quebec City and there is no strong alternative to Duceppe in Ottawa for the Bloc. The NDP wants C-38 passed and they want the budget passed, both of which are NDP priorities. Martin wants to get C-38 over ASAP so that this issue won't drag to Fall. All of which suggest O'Brien's action today is unwise. He will only accelerate the Government's push to get C-38 through.

This gives the Liberals a nice out by letting C-38 be voted down. They are not going to expend anything to get it passed.

How do the Grits 'let C-38 voted down'? The numbers aren't there so how would they do that even if they want to unless Paul Martin says: "We are dropping this bill?"

or let it stay in committee for several more months and then have an election

This thread should go to OMNI, as I feel that pretty soon names and insults are gonna start flying around...

The Chair has a vested interest in one of two possible outcomes. How independant.