The Liberals just squeaked by to survive for another day, meaning there will be no election - for now. Only time will tell if they're able to sweep up their mess. For the love of God, use this window of opportunity to clean up the government! Please, for the sake of Canada.

Liberals survive budget vote squeaker

CTV.ca News Staff

Prime Minister Paul Martin put his 11-month-old Liberal minority government to the test, and passed.

In a dramatic culmination of weeks of pitched demands that the government resign, members of Parliament cast their ballots twice Thursday afternoon.

In the first round, on Bill C-43, the vote went as expected -- in the government's favour.

Liberal MPs paused briefly in their voting to give a standing ovation to Finance Minister Ralph Goodale, who first introduced the budget to the House of Commons.

The final count was 250 for, 54 against.

In the second round, on the new multibillion-dollar spending package negotiated with NDP Leader Jack Layton, the result went also went the government's way.

The combined block of Liberals, NDP and Carolyn Parrish carried 151 votes, the same number as the Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois.

That left Independent MPs David Kilgour and Chuck Cadman to swing the result.

Kilgour followed through on a pledge he made publicly just hours earlier, voting for the budget, but against the additional spending package.

Deciding Vote

Cadman, however, voted with the government. Speaker of the House Peter Milliken was left to make the final, deciding vote in favour of the government.

"I don't know why Honourable Members keep doing this to me," Milliken said, as he rose to address the tie vote.

Citing historic precedent, the Liberal MP said partisan politics played no part in his decision to vote with the government.

"Parliamentary precedents are clear," the veteran Speaker said. "The Speaker should vote, whenever possible, for continuation of debate."

The vote carried 153-152, meaning the Liberal government will stand, for now.

"This is a very important day," Paul Martin said, as he left the Commons moments after the results were tallied.

"There is no doubt that the vote could not have been closer," he said, insisting his government nevertheless, "has the confidence of the House."

Still, Martin struck a cautious tone, urging all sides to cooperate inside the Commons.

"I believe it is very important for our part -- and the part of the opposition -- that we now make this Parliament work the way that Canadians want us to."

Addressing the boisterous Liberal caucus moments later, Martin emphasised the point.

"We have to bring the House back to being a place where the important debates can take place once again," he said in French.

Opposition Reaction

In his own comments outside the House, Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe said his party will now stop trying to topple the government.

"We will be respecting the vote, we won't do like the Liberals have done," he told reporters. "The procedural tactics are done for now."

Speaking to a crowd of cheering party faithful, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper expressed his disappointment.

"While tonight's vote is an unfortunate result for the country at this moment, it will also provide us with persuasive arguments for change when Canadians finally and inevitably head to the polls," he said.

A month ago, the opposition Conservatives appeared be gaining momentum as they capitalized on a torrent of headlines implicating Martin's party in a multimillion-dollar sponsorship spending scandal.

Seizing on the negative publicity, the Conservatives and the Bloc Quebecois found themselves aligned in their condemnation of the minority Liberals, challenging their "moral authority" to govern.

In the face of several failed Opposition attempts to bring MPs to a non-confidence vote, the Liberals brushed the accusations aside. It was Martin, they repeated again and again, who launched the federal inquiry into the now-defunct federal sponsorship fund.

The roar of calls for an election would not quiet, however, pushing Martin to put his fiscal plan to a vote this week.

Pre-vote Politicking

In the days leading up to the vote, it was anybody's guess how the numbers would add up.

With the nation's nail-biting attention focused on the three Independent MPs who held the balance of power, there were a series of stunning political developments.

Earlier Thursday, Independent MP Carolyn Parrish sent a gasp across Parliament Hill with word a sudden bout of appendicitis meant she would miss the vote.

It was later determined to be a painful cyst or kidney stone, in an eerie echo of an episode the day before.

During the daily Commons question period Wednesday, Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis was overcome with chest pains. Fearing a heart attack, he was rushed to hospital where the diagnosis turned out to be heartburn.

Later that night, B.C. Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal went public with allegations senior Liberals had tried bribe him and his wife with appointments, in order to get their support. Despite claims he had tape-recorded proof, the Liberals denied making any offers.

All of that happened while Ottawa was still reeling from Ontario MP Belinda Stronach's surprise defection to the Liberals, where the one-time Conservative leadership contender found a seat as a cabinet minister.

The Liberals have enjoyed a majority hold on Parliament for most of the last 12 years. Their grip on power was wrested somewhat in last summer's vote, just months after Martin assumed control of the party from Jean Chretien, when electors gave them minority status.

Before the political uproar that led to Thursday's budget vote began, polls showed support for the Conservatives well ahead of the Liberals. The numbers have slipped in the interim, however, pointing now to another Martin minority.