Either Stephen Harper is playing three-dimensional chess at such an advanced level that he's bamboozled his political opponents, or he's winging it, in the hope that he doesn't land himself in checkmate.
The latest in a series of policy reversals strongly suggests the latter. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said this week that he and Mr. Harper had resolved their disagreement over the distribution of seats in Parliament when they met in Ottawa. "I spoke to him about that, and I think we've fixed it," the Premier said.
The inference was that Mr. McGuinty had won his battle to have Ontario allocated more than the 10 new seats in the House of Commons the government had proposed under legislation that would have seen representation in the House more closely aligned with growing populations. Under the original plan, B. C. was set to receive an additional seven seats and Alberta another five.
Most people have leapt to the conclusion that Mr. Mc-Guinty's declaration of victory means Ontario is set to get another 21 seats, the number that would correspond to its population, when the legislation is reintroduced. However, sources say the number is more likely to end up being in the mid-range between 10 and 20 new seats.
The motivation for revamping the legislation remains unclear, but insiders say the new Minister for Democratic Reform, Steven Fletcher, was asked to make nice with Ontario.
Source...
