Canadian Liberal Party Wooing Conservatives To Cross the Aisle

The Globe and Mail has this story about Inky Mark, a Conservative MP, who says that the Liberal Party is trying to woo him into their party:

Conservative MP Inky Mark says the Liberal party is trying to woo him to their party by offering him an ambassadorship or Senate position.

He’s one of four MPs that deputy Tory leader Peter MacKay says have been approached by the Liberals in the past few days.

Mr. Mark told globeandmail.com in an interview Tuesday that he was approached by an unnamed cabinet minister who offered him a position in a phone call last Friday.
He said the caller asked him what he was looking for in politics.

“I wasn’t sure what he was talking about,” Mr. Mark said in an interview from Ottawa.

Then the caller, who he wouldn’t name because he said it was a private discussion, “suggested maybe I should consider being an ambassador.”

The caller told Mr. Mark he should think seriously about it and call back, despite the fact that Mr. Mark repeatedly declined the offer, saying he was not interested. The 57-year-old Manitoban, who said he never imagined he’d be in politics this long–he has been an MP since 1997–said he told the caller his next move was likely to “go home and retire.”

The Liberals also implied that a Senate position could come his way, Mr. Mark said.

If the Liberals were to bring a few Conservatives to their side, or taking a few of their MPs by appointing them to ambassadorships, it would help their cause. They will need at least the support of the NDP, all their party members and the three independent MPs to tie a vote on a no-confidence motion in the House of Commons. That would give them 153 votes. They would need at least 154 to overturn the motion, which could be cast by the Speaker of the House. The Bloc Québécois and the Conservatives together have 153 votes.

But a spokeswoman for the Prime Minister, Melanie Gruer, said that the Prime Minister is not in favour of using appointments in order to gain enough MPs to win votes.

The Liberals vigorously denied offering appointments to anyone.
Treasury Board Reg Alcock told CBC Newsworld Tuesday that Mr. Mark’s claims are “outrageous” and no such offer was made.

He said the only two Liberals authorized to make such an offer would be Prime Minister Paul Martin or himself, and neither of them did so.

“There is absolutely no way that this Prime Minister will authorize any undertaking of that sort, period. Will not happen. Has not happened. Is not going to happen. Period!” he said outside the Commons.
Ms. Gruer told globeandmail.com that while the Liberals have the “greatest deal of respect” for Mr. Mark, they’re also aware that the Tory MP has been “fishing” for a Senate or ambassador position for some time.

Mr. Mark, however, insisted he was telling the truth–that the Liberals came to him. “Why would I fish for this? I’ve got a solid base at home, I’ve been elected three times in a row. I’m of the age to go home and pack it up.”

He suggested that one reason the Liberals would want him for an ambassador post is because of his years of experience on Parliament Hill.

Meanwhile, Mr. MacKay maintained throughout the day that three other offers have been made to the Tories by the Liberals.
“Four people have confided in me that approaches were made, including Mr. Mark,” he said.

Mr. Alcock challenged Mr. MacKay to name names.

“If he has information of that sort, put it on the table. Identify people.”
Opposition Leader Stephen Harper said the Liberals are desperate to cling on to power and are making the overtures to try to help their cause.

On Monday night, the Conservatives held an emergency caucus meeting. They came out of it saying they were united on a decision to bring down the government as soon as possible, either by voting against the budget or by bringing forward another no-confidence motion in the government as soon as possible.

Some Conservative MPs, including Belinda Stronach and Mr. MacKay, however, have expressed concern about going to the polls this spring.

Ms. Gruer called Mr. Harper’s decision to kill the budget and force an election “disappointing.”

She said the Tories should respect the Prime Minister’s good faith gesture of offering to hold an election once Mr. Justice John Gomery delivers his report on the sponsorship probe, expected by December.

“Canadians are entitled to the truth.”

Ms. Gruer didn’t have information on when a vote on the budget might come but noted that the opposition parties will still have all their allotted opposition days before the session ends in June.

Sounds to me the Liberals are playing the old fashioned game of quid pro quo.