By Joan Bryden
OTTAWA (CP) - Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority Conservative government handily survived a confidence vote Tuesday on its budget, disarming one potential trigger for a spring election.
The separatist Bloc Quebecois threw its support behind the fiscal blueprint, joining the Conservatives to pass the budget by a vote of 176 to 119, despite opposition from the Liberals and NDP.
Joe Comuzzi, who was turfed from the Liberal caucus last week for voicing support for the budget, also voted for it, earning a standing ovation from Conservatives.
Harper declared himself to be delighted that his government "survived another test" and suggested the budget's passage means there'll be no election for at least a few more months.
"There are a lot of important tax measures, a lot of important social measures, environmental measures (in the budget)," Harper said.
"So I'm glad to see us moving forward on those things and I hope in the next few months we'll be able to get done the things Canadians elected us to do."
Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe announced his party's support immediately after the budget was tabled March 19, unable to say no to some $2.3 billion in equalization and other cash transfers for Quebec.
But Monday's cliff-hanger election in Quebec gave the Bloc added inducement to prop up Harper's government and avoid a spring federal election. The Bloc's provincial counterpart, the Parti Quebecois, posted its lowest share of the popular vote since 1970, throwing the sovereigntist movement into disarray.
Indeed, polls suggest it would be in no opposition party's interests to force an election that could deliver Harper his coveted majority.
In the immediate wake of the budget, which sprayed the country with $10 billion in new spending aimed primarily at middle-class families, Tory popularity rose to as much as 40 per cent, the support level generally needed to produce a majority. The latest poll, a Decima survey released Tuesday, put the Tories at 35 per cent support - four points ahead of the Liberals.
The government claims the budget will make it more affordable for Canadians to raise children, enriching education savings plans and creating a new child tax benefit that will save tax-paying parents up to $310 per year for each child under 18.
It professes to have resolved the so-called fiscal imbalance by pledging to give $39.4 billion over seven years to the provinces for equalization, health care, post-secondary education, infrastructure and manpower training.
Other voter-friendly goodies included a tax benefit of up to $1,000 for low-income families, a rebate of up to $2,000 on purchases of fuel-efficient cars and a tax of up to $4,000 on sales of gas guzzlers.
While it's been generally well received, the budget has been criticized by some economists and business leaders for boosting program spending by 7.9 per cent. Aboriginal leaders have complained bitterly that the budget does nothing to alleviate native poverty and, as a result, are warning that the government could face a summer of protests and blockades.
And half the provinces - particularly Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia - are furious with the reforms to the equalization program, through which Ottawa helps share the wealth with have-not provinces.
Liberal and New Democrat MPs voted against the budget, contending that it doesn't provide sufficient tax relief or other help for the middle-class, ignores the most disadvantaged Canadians and fails to seriously tackle greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental problems.
Despite Harper's protestations to the contrary, most opposition MPs are convinced the Tories want to force an election this spring, taking advantage of the post-budget boost in popularity.
Monday's Quebec election result may add to Harper's temptation to pull the plug. Liberal Premier Jean Charest, Harper's political ally, pulled out a slim minority in the face of a stunning surge by the right-wing Action democratique du Quebec, an ideological ally for Harper's Tories.
Even with the budget now safely tucked way, Harper could still engineer confidence votes on other issues. The government's Clean Air Act, to which all three opposition parties are demanding amendments, or a bill cracking down on violent offenders could yet become the trigger for a spring election.
Copyright © 2007 Canadian Press
