From: brewnoserii@gmail.com   
      
   Remember that Canada right now has a 'caretaker government' only, not a   
   sitting one. . . .   
   __________________________   
   Privy Council Office -  The Caretaker Convention:   
      
   In short, during an election, a government should restrict itself - in matters   
   of policy, expenditure and appointments - to activity that is:   
      
       (a) routine, or   
       (b) non-controversial, or   
       (c) urgent and in the public interest, or   
       (d) reversible by a new government without undue cost or disruption, or   
       (e) agreed to by opposition parties (in those cases where consultation is   
   appropriate).   
      
   In determining what activity is necessary for continued good government, the   
   Government must inevitably exercise judgement, weighing the need for action   
   and potential public reaction, given the absence of a confidence chamber and   
   the possibility that a    
   different government could be elected.   
   _________________________   
   Globe and Mail - October 2, 2015   
      
   NDP government would not adhere to a TPP deal, Mulcair says in letter   
      
   Mulcair argues in letter to Trade Minister Ed Fast that Conservative   
   government lacks mandate in election period to negotiate trade agreement   
      
   NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair is serving notice that a New Democratic Party   
   government would not consider itself bound by the terms of a major Pacific Rim   
   trade deal which the ruling Conservatives are negotiating on behalf of Canada   
   in Atlanta.   
      
   The NDP's hardening of position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks comes   
   as the deal appears likely.  Discussions in Atlanta have gone into overtime as   
   countries clear obstacles such as how much foreign content should be allowed   
   in Japanese-made cars    
   and Asian auto parts entering North America.  Sources said Prime Minister   
   Stephen Harper is being regularly briefed on developments as talks between 12   
   countries from Chile to Japan enter what is expected to be their final phase.   
      
   Mr. Mulcair said Friday, however, that he feels the Conservative government   
   has no mandate to agree to the big changes that a TPP deal would bring about.   
      
   His bombshell declaration on Friday promises to make the massive trade   
   agreement a bigger factor in Canada's 42nd federal election, which is 2 1/2   
   weeks away.  It comes as polls suggest the NDP has dropped to third place in   
   the national race.   
      
   The new marker laid down by the NDP on a potential TPP deal sets it apart from   
   the Conservatives, who favour a deal, and the Liberals, who have focused most   
   of their criticism on the manner in which the Tories have negotiated the   
   agreement rather than    
   its substance.  The NDP is trying to consolidate the anti-TPP vote with this   
   move.   
      
   Mr. Mulcair laid out his reasons in a letter to International Trade Minister   
   Ed Fast, the Conservative government's point man on the TPP talks, listing a   
   slew of reasons why he's distancing himself from the agreement, including the   
   expected pain it will    
   bring to Canadian dairy farmers and smaller auto parts makers.  "Your   
   government forfeited a mandate to conclude negotiations on a major   
   international trade   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
   agreement the day the election was called," he writes.   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
      
   The letter also throws into question what would happen should the   
   Conservatives lose power in the Oct. 19 election.  "As you participate in   
   Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations this week in Atlanta, I wish to advise   
   you that an NDP government will not    
   consider itself bound to any agreement signed by your Conservative government   
   during this federal election," Mr. Mulcair says.   
      
   He says a caretaker government like the one now running Ottawa during an   
   election campaign is supposed to step carefully and ensure Canada's interests   
   are "vigorously defended" in Atlanta.   
      
   "It has become clear that your government's continued negotiation in the TPP   
   during this campaign is not in the best interests of Canadians.  You have no   
   mandate to make concessions that could put thousands of well-paid Canadian   
   jobs and the communities    
   that depend on them in peril," Mr. Mulcair says.   "Any commitments made now,   
   17 days before an election, without any consultation with the parties that may   
   form the next government, would be clear violations of the caretaker   
   convention to which your    
   government is bound."   
      
   The NDP's move comes as the three-party tie in the race to form the next   
   federal government appears to have ended.  Polls show the Liberals and   
   Conservatives fighting for the lead and the New Democrats slipping to third as   
   support softens in their Quebec    
   stronghold.   
      
   The latest daily tracking by Nanos Research for The Globe and Mail and CTV has   
   the Liberals leading with 33.5-per-cent support, followed by the Conservatives   
   at 31.9 per cent and the NDP at 25.9 per cent.   
      
   Plans were being made for a closing TPP news conference in Atlanta Saturday   
   afternoon even as countries scrambled to resolve a deadlock over opening   
   markets to more foreign dairy products.  Dairy and autos were two of the   
   biggest hindrances to a deal    
   earlier this summer at TPP talks in Maui.   
      
   Mr. Harper's Conservative government finds itself on the cusp of a historical   
   first in Canada, where a caretaker administration signs onto a wide-ranging   
   and ambitious trade deal only days before an election that could usher in a   
   change of leadership in    
   Ottawa.   
      
   Mr. Fast said Canada was "making good progress" in resolving differences with   
   Japan over Tokyo's drive to have this country lift 6.1-per-cent tariffs on   
   Japanese cars while allowing the Asian auto superpower to use far more foreign   
   parts in those    
   vehicles.   The NAFTA rules that have held sway until now stipulate that cars   
   and auto parts must have more than 60-per-cent North American content to be   
   sold duty-free in Canada, Mexico and the United States.  The TPP deal is   
   expected to see 45-per-cent    
   domestic content rules for cars, 35 per cent for parts and 45 per cent for   
   more sophisticated components.   
      
   The Tories are under pressure from dairy farmers and major milk-producing   
   provinces not to open up Canada's market to more foreign imports.  The supply   
   management system includes controls on production and prices as well as steep   
   tariffs to discourage    
   dairy imports.   
      
   "We continue to push back against efforts to undermine our system of supply   
   management, and until we're at a point that we're absolutely assured supply   
   management has a bright and prosperous future in Canada, we will not be   
   signing an agreement," Mr.    
   Fast said Friday.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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