Canadian PM Blasts Opposition

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday that a bid to topple his government is a threat to democracy and the country's economy.

Harper pleaded his case to the nation in a taped address from Parliament on Tuesday, vowing to use "every legal means at our disposal" to stop opposition plans to bring down his minority Conservative government in a confidence vote Monday.

A cabinet minister suggested earlier Wednesday that Harper would ask Governor General Michaelle Jean to make the unprecedented move of suspending Parliament until next month. Harper's office said in a statement after his address that he will visit the Governor General on Thursday.

The embattled prime minister called the opposition move a "back room deal."

"The opposition does not have the democratic right to impose a coalition," Harper said in a taped address to the nation from his office in Parliament. "The opposition is attempting to impose this deal without your say, without your consent, and without your vote. This is no time for back room deals."

Harper's Conservative Party was re-elected Oct. 14 with a strengthened minority government, but the opposition united to topple Harper, saying he has failed to present a plan for dealing with the global economic crisis. A suspension of Parliament would give Harper time to come up with an economic stimulus package.

Opposition Liberal leader Stephane Dion said that it would only delay the inevitable.

In a letter to Jean on Wednesday, Dion urged her to reject Harper's request, arguing it would prolong a parliamentary crisis and exacerbate the country's economic difficulties.

In his address, Harper called the crisis a pivotal moment in Canada's history and slammed the Liberals and Democrats for trying to create a power-sharing coalition with the Bloc Quebecois, a separatist party from the French-speaking province of Quebec.

"At a time of global economic instability, Canada's government must stand unequivocally for keeping the country together," he said. "At a time like this, a coalition with the separatists cannot help Canada."

The opposition move against Harper was also fueled by a proposal to scrap public subsidies for political parties, something the opposition groups rely on more than the Conservatives. Analysts have called the proposal a colossal mistake that unified the opposition against him.

Although that proposal was scrapped, the opposition has continued to seek his ouster by saying he has lost the trust and confidence of Parliament.

The Liberals, New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois, which together control a majority of Parliament's 308 seats, signed a pact agreeing to vote to oust Harper's minority government and setting the structure for their proposed coalition government.

"If Mr. Harper wants to suspend Parliament he must face a vote of confidence," Dion said in a televised address of his own. "The Harper Conservatives have lost the confidence of the majority of members of the House of Commons. In our democracy, in our parliamentary system, in our constitution this means that they have lost the right to govern."

Jean, who is the representative of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II as head of state, holds a mostly ceremonial position. But it will be her decision on whether to suspend Parliament.

The political crisis could also force the second national election in two months or lead to the opposition coalition taking power.

A governor general has never been asked to suspend Parliament to delay an ouster vote when it was clear the government didn't have the confidence of a majority of legislators.

"There is no precedent whatsoever in Canada and probably in the Commonwealth," Constitutional scholar and Queen's University political scientist Ned Franks said. "We are in uncharted territory.".

If Jean refuses Harper's request to suspend Parliament he could step down or wait to until he is defeated in Monday's confidence vote, Franks said.

Conservative Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said a suspension of Parliament until next month is the most sensible alternative available to Jean and the government.

"I'm sure most Canadians agree that a time-out for Parliament right now is probably the best thing," Kenney said

The Conservatives are pursuing a public relations campaign against the opposition that includes rallies across the country and radio ads saying power should be earned and not taken.

No Canadian government has ever been ousted in a confidence vote and replaced by an opposition coalition without an intervening election.

Jean said she had received a letter from the three opposition parties formally advising her of their plan to topple Harper and urging her to let them form a coalition government.