Harper says people 'fed up' with constitutional battles

Stephen Harper says people are "fed up" with the old constitutional battles that have been around his entire life.

The prime minister was making his first official visit to Quebec on Friday since allegations surfaced that Supreme Court of Canada justices intervened in the patriation of the Constitution.

When asked by a reporter about the controversy, Harper said his government's priority is the economy of the 21st century and not the constitutional disputes of the 1980s.

"I think that the whole population is fed up with this discussion," Harper said shortly after he announced 55 clean-energy projects at a hotel in Quebec City. "We've lived with this for all my life, all our lives."

Harper's remarks drew applause from the dozens of people in the Tory-friendly audience, which included cabinet ministers, party staffers and partners in the newly announced energy projects. The allegations over the Constitution stem from a new book by historian and journalist Frederic Bastien.

In the book, Bastien writes that Bora Laskin, then chief justice of the Supreme Court, gave information to the Canadian and British governments on the discussions among the justices about the legality of patriation.

The federal New Democrats and Quebec provincial parties have been pressuring Ottawa to disclose documents pertaining to the alleged misconduct. NDP Leader Tom Mulcair has stressed that Canadians have a right to know whether there was political interference in the Supreme Court's deliberations on the legality of patriating the Constitution from Britain.

The Conservative government has reiterated it has no interest in reopening constitutional fights of the past. The Supreme Court launched an internal investigation into the accusations, but reported that it had found no documents on the matter.

The 1982 patriation of the Constitution has always been a controversial subject in Quebec, whose separatist government of the day felt betrayed by other provinces. Quebec was the only province that refused to endorse the document.

On Friday, Harper was also asked about the refusal of a growing number of his Conservative MPs to send their constituents the party's latest attack against newly appointed Liberal leader Justin Trudeau.

The taxpayer-funded pamphlet — called a "ten-percenter" — features a message matching recent, negative TV ads about Trudeau that say he lacks the experience and judgment to govern. The reluctant Tory MPs have said they don't think this type of an offensive is appropriate.

Harper didn't directly answer a question asking him whether he thought the reaction from his MPs indicated the campaign has, perhaps, gone too far.

"Obviously, the messages will speak for themselves," he said of the flyers. "I look forward to a vigorous debate over the next couple of years."

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Generation Why brings 'far away' closer

CBC News Community team, from left to right: Andrew Yates, Lauren O'Neil, Andrea Bellamare, John Bowman (Not shown: Andrea Lee-Greenberg, on leave)

If you're part of the CBC News community, you're likely to meet one of us: we're the folks working to produce and promote your stories. Read more about us.

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U.K. was concerned over Canadian navy spy, documents show

The United Kingdom conducted a government-wide damage assessment following the spying by former Canadian naval officer Jeffery Paul Delisle, according to documents obtained by CBC News

Using access to information requests in several countries, CBC News gathered information about what the so-called Five Eyes intelligence community thought about Delisle.

The intelligence allies include Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Delisle pleaded guilty last October to one count of breach of trust and two charges of passing information to a foreign entity that could harm Canada's interest. He sold secrets to Russia for over four years.

In February, Delisle was given a 20-year prison sentence.

The British government has released six redacted documents. They show there were a number of questions the U.K.'s defence intelligence office wanted answered by the Canadian government.

The documents show Canada's allies have closed ranks when it comes to talking about Delisle. Apart from the "top secret" title, everything except the number of questions were redacted with long lines of x's.

"Potentially the results could be of significance not just for XXXX," read one document.

"I met with XXXX when I was back in the U.K. and have already started comparing these XXXX," read another.

"I was rather under the impression that XXXX could be a case of crossed wires."

The British documents do show there was probably concern from Canada's allies, but the documents do not shed any light on the level of that jeopardy.

At Delisle's trial, several people testified the former sub-lieutenant damaged Canada's intelligence-gathering abilities as well as its relations with allies.

His lawyers downplayed the scope of the security breach.

During the trial, written damage assessments by Brig.-Gen. Rob Williams, director-general of military signals intelligence, were presented as evidence.

They said the spy affair puts Canada's relationship with its partners in jeopardy

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Can Loblaw live up to its promises in Bangladesh?

International labour rights groups say they will be closely watching Canada's Loblaw Companies. Ltd., along with other retailers, to see if they live up to promises made after the deadly Rana Plaza factory collapse.

"The devil is in the details," notes Gilbert Houngbo, deputy director-general of the UN's International Labour Organization, who is in Dhaka for four-days of meetings with the government, unions and employers to find a way to prevent another such tragedy.

Loblaw, whose discount clothing brand Joe Fresh was made in the factory, vowed on Thursday to keep its contractors in the country, ensure buildings follow local codes and to compensate victims through a relief fund.

The Canadian company is one of only three of about 30 companies with garments produced in the building that have offered to compensate victims. The other corporations are low-cost UK brand Primark and Spain's department store chain, El Corte Ingles.

"We're just going to need to see what happens on the factory floors," said Liana Foxvog, a director of organization and communications at International Labor Rights Forum, a Washington-based advocacy group.

Loblaw said it produces in 47 facilities in Bangladesh. Labour rights organizations say almost all of those facilities are likely to require retrofits and renovations to ensure the buildings comply with local building codes, as the company has vowed to do.

Major renovations needed

Bangladesh's multi-storey garment factories are often housed in structures initially built for small, commercial businesses, not to withstand industrial uses and local building codes are rarely observed or enforced.

Galen Weston, executive chairman of Loblaw, vowed that his company would stay in Bangladesh and be a force for change. (Chris Young/Canadian Press)

Most buildings require even the most basic renovations, such as adding emergency exits, building external fire escapes and replacing the collapsible metal gates that separate each floor from the stairwell with proper fireproof walls, said Foxvog.

"These buildings just need major, major upgrades and it's not necessarily something that Loblaw can do on its own," she explained.

As is often the case, a number of factories were operating in the eight-storey Rana Plaza building in Dhaka's commercial suburb of Savar, when it collapsed on April 24 under the weight of illegally built extra floors.

"Is Loblaw going to put in enough funding to bring these buildings up to code, even if the other companies in the factory aren't putting up funding?," Foxvog asked.

Four senior representatives of Loblaw are flying to Bangladesh next week to meet with government and labour officials.

Loblaw has said its own workers will make sure local building codes are followed, but labour organizations want to know whether the audits will be publicly accessible, listing the name and address so that independent audits can also occur.

Some companies leave

Farah Kabir, Bangladesh country director for ActionAid, a global anti-poverty advocacy organization, appreciates Loblaw's vow to stay in Bangladesh to push for change.

"That is a demonstration of a certain amount of commitment and responsibility, but I wish that this had come with an enforcement of audits before this happened," said Kabir.

Six months ago, a fire that killed 112 people spurred the Walt Disney Company to stop production of its merchandise in Bangladesh and other countries that ranked low on the World Bank's governing indicators, which look at government effectiveness, the rule of law and control of corruption.

Bangladesh is the world's second largest apparel exporter behind China, with about 3.6 million people working in its $20-billion-a-year garment industry. Most workers earn as little as $38 a month.

News of Disney's move out of the country raised questions about whether Western brands with merchandise made in Bangladesh should leave a country where building codes are not enforced, or remain in order to advocate for change.

"By walking away, are we really solving the problem?" asked Kabir.

But labour organizations argue that Western companies need to take a broader approach in order to effect any real change on the ground — and focus their attention on all labour issues, not merely structural integrity issues raised by the collapse of a factory where extra storeys were illegally added.

"Today we're talking about safety because we had a safety issue but you have to jump the gun a little bit. Last time it was a fire. This time it was structural. God knows what it'll be next," said Houngbo.

Firms forced to self-regulate

The International Labor Rights Forum and other groups tried unsuccessfully to get companies to sign onto an agreement to improve conditions in the country.after an earlier fire, in December 2010, killed more than 100 people at another Bangladesh factory.

Rescuers continue to find more bodies in the concrete debris of the collapsed factory. (Ismail Ferdous/AP)

Only two companies joined the fire and building safety agreement — PVH Corp, which owns Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, and a major German retailer, Tchibo Group — but on the condition at least two other companies signed on.

"They didn't want to be acting alone, nor should they," said Foxvog. "We need many more companies in this for it to be truly effective."

The fire and building safety plan sought independent building audits and higher prices paid to factories to ensure enough money in coffers to bring the buildings up to code. It also would be legally binding instead of voluntary.

"In some sense, these corporate initiatives are a substitute for real effective national law, just because Bangladesh doesn't have a working labour law or workplace health and safety system," said Brian Langille, an international labour law expert with the University of Toronto faculty of law. "These firms have to step in and try to regulate it themselves."

Labour rights groups are now pitching the fire and building safety plan as a solution to the latest tragedy.

A group of 23 Canadian organizations have signed a letter calling on Loblaw's parent company, George Weston Ltd., to partake in global talks aiming to set out a fire and building safety plan by May 15.

Loblaw said it received information about the fire and building safety plan for Bangladesh from Toronto-based Maquila Solidarity Network and it's currently reviewing it ahead of the deadline.

Trade unions need power

Incremental changes have happened in the past decade with the presence of global brands, say labour activists. Some Western manufacturers are allowing breaks during the workday, raising wages, providing food to employees and seeking to set up schools for children.

"Definitely there has been change but it is not adequate," said Kabir. A key concern for her and others is that workers in the poor South Asian country are unable to push for change themselves.

"Not having a trade union meant that they had to go to work on the 24th of April despite the fact that the building was not safe," said Kabir. "If they had trade unions, this would not have happened."

Appetite for change appears to be growing, even if it's driven ultimately by the mighty dollar.

In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Bangladesh's prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, acknowledged the garment industry faces troubles but assured consumers the government is moving quickly to fix them. "Bangladesh is a place for good conditions for the investment," she added.

The prime minister had little fear that the international companies would stop doing business with the country's massive garment industry, saying they come because of the cheap labour. Hasina also denied that the government is hostile toward unions.

The International Labour Organization's Houngbo remained hopeful that his four-day mission to Bangladesh to meet with government officials, unions and employers would prove fruitful and change will come.

"There's a general sense of urgency and a general sense of what's got to be done. Everybody seems to agree," said Houngbo.

"It's a new day for the country. My hope is that after a few weeks people don't just go back to business as usual."

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Syrians in coastal town flee amid fears of 2nd massacre

Thousands of Sunni Muslims fled a Syrian coastal town Saturday, a day after reports circulated that nearly a dozen people including children were killed by pro-government gunmen, about 50 kilometres away, activists said.

About 4,000 people were seen fleeing from the Mediterranean city of Banias, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Many in the coastal town fear pro-government gunmen are active in Sunni neighbourhoods.

The group said at least 10 people, including children, were killed in the city on Friday and the number could be as high at 60.

The reported exodus from Banias came after activists said Friday that regime troops and gunmen from nearby Alawite areas beat, stabbed and shot at least 70 people in the Sunni Muslim village of Bayda, 50 kilometres east of Banias.

Fears of a second massacre came amid news of increased tensions between Syria and Israel.

Israel targets 'game-changing' missiles

Israeli officials confirmed on Saturday that the country's air force carried out a strike against Syria. They said the target was a shipment of advanced missiles bound for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

The officials said the attack took place early Friday and targeted sophisticated "game-changing" weapons. One official said the target was a shipment of advanced, long-range ground-to-ground missiles.

It was not immediately clear where the airstrike took place, or whether the air force carried out the strike from Lebanese or Syrian airspace.

The Israeli officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing a secret military operation. There was no immediate comment from Syrian officials, and no word of the airstrike on Syrian state media.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly warned in recent weeks that Israel would be prepared to take military action if chemical weapons or other arms that would upset the balance of power with Hezbollah were to reach the Islamic militant group.

It was the latest salvo in Israel's long-running effort to disrupt the Shia militia's quest to build an arsenal capable of defending against Israel's air force and spreading destruction inside the Jewish state.

In January, the Israeli air force is believed to have targeted a shipment of advanced SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles bound for Hezbollah. Israel has not formally admitted to carrying out that airstrike, though officials have strongly hinted they were behind the attack.

The Israeli airstrike comes as countries surrounding Syria are dealing with the continued threat of violence spilling over the Syrian border.

In Lebanon, there has been fighting between supporters and opponents of the Syrian regime, with gun battles at times breaking out in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli.

Israel, too, is worried about becoming caught up in Syria's war. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyau – who has long been focused on the threat from Iran and its nuclear program – said this week that a missile attack from the Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah was one of his chief concerns.

Israeli army stages border exercises

Israel's military has fortified its military assets in the occupied Golan Heights. It has moved elite infantry troops into the area, and the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported this week that a small military base near the convergence of Israel's borders with Syria and Jordan has been reopened.

This week also saw a major Israeli military drill along the northern border with Lebanon. About 2,000 reservists were ordered to report in an exercise meant to simulate a conflict with Hezbollah.

A senior Israeli officer told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, "the current reality on the Syrian front is liable to surprise us, meaning that we have to take that into account as well."

With files from CBC's Derek Stoffel

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Via terror suspect talked about waging 'war,' imam says

One of the two men accused of plotting a terrorist attack on a Via Rail passenger train used to talk about waging "war" against non-Muslims, the imam of a Toronto mosque told CBC News in an exclusive interview.

RCMP arrested Raed Jaser, 35, in Toronto last month on charges of conspiring to commit murder by derailing a train somewhere between Toronto and New York.

It is believed to be the first time Canada has been directly targeted in an alleged terror plot backed by al-Qaeda operatives in Iran.

Imam Mohamed Ali told CBC national correspondent Ioanna Roumeliotis that Jaser regularly prayed at a Willowdale mosque last year.

Ali said they would often chat afterward over coffee.

For the most part, he said, Jaser was a "good guy, classy guy."

But it was during one of those conversations over coffee, Ali said, that Jaser first talked about waging jihad.

'We have to war with them'

The imam recalled Jaser saying: "Well, look, the disbelievers are at war with us, so we have to war with them, right?"

Jaser seemed convinced non-believers "are out to get us so we have to, you know, defend ourselves," the imam said.

"So, I said, 'No, we need to educate ourselves … peace is a better way to go.'

"He said: 'You are right. But to bring peace, first we have to take care of business and stuff like that.'"

Ali claimed Jaser was kicked out of another mosque for "teaching war and all that stuff" to young Muslims.

In one of the many odd twists of this story, Ali said a main source of Jaser's anger seemed to be the fact he had not been able to obtain Canadian citizenship.

"He was sort of pissed. He's been in this country for a long time, and he couldn't do what he wanted to do, such as have papers," Ali said.

"So I think that's really what brought on all these issues and anger and all that."

Jaser is lucky he wasn't kicked out of the country 20 years ago. He was 15 when his family arrived in Canada in 1993 carrying French passports and claiming to be refugees.

Family ordered deported

A year later, Canadian authorities declared their passports and refugee claims were both fake, and ordered them all deported.

The family appealed the decision and, four years later, all but Raed were allowed to stay as permanent residents.

By then, Raed had been convicted of fraud and uttering threats, and was again ordered deported.

But for almost 16 years, Canadian authorities failed to enforce his deportation until finally he was given a pardon from his crimes.

That, in turn, allowed him to finally get permanent residency in Canada last year — even as police and intelligence agencies had him under surveillance as he allegedly plotted a mass killing of train passengers.

Canadian authorities claim Jaser was plotting the alleged terror attack with 30-year-old Montreal academic Chiheb Esseghaier.

Police have so far been tight-lipped about the relationship between the two — Jaser, a Toronto moving van operator; and Esseghaier, a Montreal PhD in bioengineering.

But for the first time, imam Ali placed the two men together in Toronto where police say at least one of them was monitoring the movement of trains.

Jaser brought Esseghaier to Toronto mosque

Ali said one day last December, Jaser brought Esseghaier to the Toronto mosque for prayers.

The imam said the Montreal visitor struck him as a "normal guy — he didn't seem like he would do anything, or he had any thoughts like that. He looked very innocent, right?"

The imam said he saw Jaser several times in the days and hours leading up to the arrests last month.

Two days before the RCMP busts, Ali and Jaser had coffee together.

The imam recalled: "I asked him, 'Is there anything up? How are you doing? Is everything OK?'

"He didn't seem well. It looked like someone who either did something, or is afraid of what will happen…. Nervous, yes.

"He said, 'I'm just tired.'"

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Bridal shop refuses to let transgender shopper try on gowns

Rohit Singh found this gown at another bridal shop and wore it for her wedding. (Courtesy Rohit Singh)

A Saskatoon woman who identifies herself as transgender says a bridal shop in the city refused to let her try on dresses as she planned her wedding.

Rohit Singh says she was looking at outfits in Jenny's Bridal Boutique but when she asked to try one on, she was refused.

Singh said she plans to file a formal complaint about her treatment with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission.

"It might happen to some other transgender that might come to the store and she will hurt the same," Singh said. "It so embarrassed me and my husband."

"Discrimination," Singh said of the experience. "I'm damn sure it's discrimination."

The shop owner thought Singh was a man and felt other people in the store were uncomfortable with Singh trying on dresses.

"She said, sorry we don't allow men to wear dresses here," Singh recalled. "I said I'm not a man, I'm transgender."

Singh says she has started the process for a sex change.

When contacted Thursday by CBC News, the bridal shop owner, who declined to provide her surname, said she stands by her decision.

"To me it doesn't matter," the owner said. "He looked like a man. There was quite a few brides in the store. If you see a man trying on dresses, you're going to feel uncomfortable."

Singh later found a red gown at My Lynh Bridal, on Idylwyld Drive North, where she described the service as excellent. Singh's marriage took place on Monday.

With files from CBC's Steve Pasqualoot and Madeline Kotzer

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Boston bombing suspects planned July 4 attack, reports say

The two brothers accused of setting off two bombs at the Boston Marathon last month considered carrying out suicide attacks and striking during July 4 festivities, according to several media reports citing unnamed law enforcement officials.

They decided to launch the attack earlier than planned after completing the homemade pressure cooker bombs ahead of schedule, U.S. media reported.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died following a shootout with police four days after the April 15 bombings. The twin explosions near the finish line of the race killed three people and injured more than 260.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was arrested on April 19 following a massive manhunt that virtually shut down the city of Boston and several surrounding communities. He faces a charge of using a weapon of mass destruction to kill and a possible death penalty.

Tsarnaev, who is being held in a prison medical facility, told investigators the pair built the pressure cooker bombs at his brother's house and chose the finish line of the race after driving around Boston, according to the New York Times.

The 19-year-old also said he and his brother had watched internet sermons of radical American Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Yemen in 2011, although there is no indication they communicated with him, the paper reported.

Law enforcement officials expressed a degree of skepticism over Tsarnaev's account, however, because it is unlikely the pressure cooker bombs could have been completed as quickly as he said given their complexity, the Washington Post reported.

Cause of death not released

Tsarnaev provided the details before he was informed of his right to remain silent, U.S. media reported.

The body of Tamerlan Tsarnaev was claimed on Thursday by a funeral home, according to Department of Public Safety spokesman Terrel Harris.

The medical examiner determined Tsarnaev's cause of death Monday, but officials said it wouldn't become public until his remains were released and a death certificate was filed. It was unclear Thursday evening whether the death certificate had been filed.

Authorities said the Tsarnaev brothers during the gunfight with police set off a pressure cooker bomb and tossed grenades before the older brother ran out of ammunition.

Police said they tackled the older brother and began to handcuff him but had to dive out of the way at the last second when the younger brother, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, drove a stolen car at them. They said the younger brother then ran over his brother's body as he drove away from the scene to escape.

Three college friends of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have also been arrested and accused of trying to protect him by going into his dorm room and removing a backpack filled with hollowed-out fireworks three days after the bombing.

The three 19-year-olds have not been accused of any role in the bombings.

With files from The Associated Press

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Top court backs new trial for woman who hid baby's body

The Supreme Court of Canada agreed in a decision released today that a Toronto-area woman should face a new trial on a charge of hiding her dead baby's body.

The case concerns Ivana Levkovic, who gave birth at her Mississauga, Ont., apartment in 2006 to a baby she says was stillborn.

The woman was charged with concealing the body of a child after her landlord found the baby's decomposed remains in a garbage bag on the balcony of her apartment in Mississauga, Ont.

Levkovic told police she had fallen, gone into labour, and given birth to what she believed was a stillborn child. She then put the body in a garbage bag and left it on her balcony.

The Criminal Code dictates an individual cannot conceal the birth of a "child," whether it died "before, during or after birth."

A lower court said the word "before" was vague, and Levkovic was acquitted. But the decision was reversed in the Ontario Court of Appeal, and a new trial was ordered.

Canada's top court agreed with the appeal court decision.

With files from Laura Payton

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4 key questions about today's Ontario budget

This afternoon, Premier Kathleen Wynne's government will table its first budget since she took the reins of the Ontario Liberal Party just over three months ago.

While the premier has called on opposition parties to read the final budget before passing judgment, Tim Hudak's Progressive Conservatives have already made it clear they won't be supporting it.

That has left the New Democrats in the driver's seat, able to decide whether to push the province into an election or to support what the government is offering.

• Watch CBCNews.ca for live coverage of the budget at 4 p.m. ET

If this scenario sounds familiar to Ontarians, that's because it's exactly what happened last year. The minority Liberals are once again looking to what the NDP wants, though this time around, the premier has said the government won't be "held hostage" to specific demands.

What will the 2013 budget look like?

The budget won't be officially unveiled until Thursday afternoon, but the government has certainly given broad previews of what it will contain.

The Liberals have said there will be nearly $300 million earmarked for helping young people get on a clear career path in Ontario. Wynne has said a key part of the government's proposed program would be a wage subsidy for employers who provide work or training for up to six months.

The budget will also contain details on steps the government will take to lower auto insurance rates, which is something the New Democrats have been looking for the Liberals to deliver. Finance Minister Charles Sousa said the government wants to push rates down "quickly," but it is not precisely clear how rapidly that can happen.

Ahead of the budget, Sousa has said that the province's 2012-13 deficit is now estimated at $9.8 billion, some $5 billion less than had previously been projected.

Asked Wednesday if the budget would raise taxes, Sousa said it will explain "how we're going to control spending, how we're going to engage and increase GDP growth and how we're going to maintain our tax at the low levels that they are now."

Is there any way to get the Tories to support the budget?

It appears not.

Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak says the province needs to change the direction it is going in. His party has vowed to vote against the budget. (CBC)

The Progressive Conservatives have already vowed to vote against the budget, which they say is being brought forward by a government that simply needs to go.

"Fundamentally if you believe your house is crumbling down, if it's falling apart at the foundations, you don't simply settle to change the wallpaper and a new coat of paint," Hudak told reporters on Wednesday.

"You rebuild the structure, you make it stronger, you start anew."

The Tories moved a non-confidence motion against the Liberals earlier this week, which can't go forward without the other parties' consent. The premier has said that the budget will give opposition parties the chance to express their level of confidence in the government.

Could the NDP pay a political price for supporting the budget?

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said that she needs to see what is contained in the budget and her party will then have to consider its contents.

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said that her party will take its time in reviewing the budget. (CBC)

"We're going to take our time and be very thoughtful about this," she said Wednesday.

Hudak suggested Wednesday that it seems illogical for the New Democrats to continue to prop up a minority government that has disappointed them.

"I think the NDP have to ask themselves: Do they really believe that keeping a government going that has crossed the line towards corruption, where the NDP comes in the house every day and says that they've lied, they're corrupt, that they blew all this money — are they going then shrug their shoulders and say: 'We're going to keep this act going?" Hudak said.

"It's time for change."

What happens next?

A vote on the budget motion will likely occur within one to three weeks. The Liberals will need the support of at least one opposition party for it to pass.

But a separate vote will then take place on the budget bill, so that it can be implemented.

Last year, this part of the process dragged on for weeks as the Liberals and New Democrats squabbled and adjustments were made.

The 2012 budget finally passed 52-35 in the middle of June and an election was averted. The New Democrats simply abstained from voting that day, while the Progressive Conservatives voted against it.

As then premier Dalton McGuinty told reporters after the budget finally passed, he believed that "in the end, working together, we found a way to make our minority government work."

This time around the Liberals have fewer seats in the legislature. At the moment, the minority government has 51 seats in the 107-seat legislature, while the Progressive Conservatives have 36 and the Democrats 18. Two seats remain vacant following the departures of Dwight Duncan and Chris Bentley, both of whom resigned from the legislature in recent months.

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