In a nutshell, a multi-party coalition (including the Bloc Québécois) is attempting to bring down Conservative PM Stephen Harper's government. Harper, after a speech last night, has vowed to fight.
The inimitable Canadians Mark Steyn (see, for instance, his thumbnail sketch), Andrew Coyne (note this bit of witty sarcasm), and Ezra Levant have been covering this, as have major news sources.
Constitutional crisis? And who said Canadian politics were boring? (OK, a Canadian friend of mine told me that, but he said it before the current mess erupted in Ottawa.)
The entire situation now goes to the Governor-General. The upshot? If Harper's opponents succeed, it would mark the first time in Canadian history that a government has been ousted and replaced by an opposition coalition without an intervening election. Call me crazy, but that doesn't sound too palatable.
Harper and his Tories are launching a public-relations war against the coalition.
Then again, cracks are appearing in the coalition -- or at least in one of its member groups, the Liberals under Stephane Dion. At the same time, there's been a rather vitriolic spate of Quebec-bashing from various quarters, including Harper's.
UPDATE 1: The Governor-General has suspended the Canadian Parliament until late January.
UPDATE 2: I forgot to link to the Canadian Filibuster Cartoons earlier.
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