NDP takes aim at budget cuts - Action News
Home WebMail Thursday, November 14, 2024, 03:56 AM | Calgary | 6.3°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
Politics

NDP takes aim at budget cuts

The NDP focused in Wednesday's question period on where the Conservatives plan to make cuts to balance the budget.
NDP Leader Jack Layton rises during Question Period in the House of Commons, Wednesday, June 8, 2011. Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press

The NDP took on Conservative budget cuts Wednesday, showing a more coordinated question period strategy than they've used since returning to Parliament at the start of this week.

The Official Opposition party fired question after question about past and future cuts to search and rescue, the fisheries industry and military bases.

Decorum watch

The new Speaker has promised to raise the level of civility in the House of Commons, and NDP Leader Jack Layton has gone so far as to ban heckling by his members. We're watching to see how MPs do under the new climate:

Wednesday, June 8 Who heckled: Liberal and Conservative MPs Worst offender: Conservative MP Laurie Hawn

Quote: "Nonsense!" - Hawn, in response to a question about a commenton military recruitment he made, according to a Wikileaks release,as parliamentary secretary to the minister of national defence.

The Conservatives made a show of telling the NDP to make the time to read the budget, with Finance Minister Jim Flaherty referring one MP to specific pages in the document.

Flaherty alsopointed to Treasury Board President Tony Clement and a new cabinet subcommittee that are set to review programs to find savings. Their work will commence "soon," he said.

"They'll do a careful review. They'll not slash and burn the way the Liberals did (in the mid-'90s)," Flaherty said.

Heckling was again kept to a minimum as the NDP and Conservatives try to show their commitment to a more civil House of Commons.