Posted Feb 18, 2020, 3:48 PM
|
|
Registered User
|
|
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Fredericton
Posts: 5,001
|
|
It's not a sure thing yet but it is certainly looking more and more probable that we'll go to the polls.
As is we need 24 against the budget to fail it. Liberals and Greens have 23 (if the speaker steps down or if there is a tie) and Gauvin as an independent would be the 24th.
But it's a very tight confidence motion. Higgs might have enough wiggle room to court a vote from the Greens or even the Liberals to let the budget pass.
Ultimately it will depend on how the winds are blowing. Higgs is in major damage control right now, which will make it harder to garner even token support. If he can throw in a few candies to the budget to get some extra support and/or he can get public opinion back on his side, he might hold on for now.
As for the health care reform; he says he wants to do more talks and studies in March/April, which will mean a report in the summer and implementation in the fall most likely. Putting the same plan back up would be suicide; but if he does want to downgrade ER services, he better make sure he's on top of the story and saying how those services will be handled elsewhere, or you can be sure Vickers will have the No-Confidence motion back on the table just as fast.
|
Threaded Mode