Memory Lane 3

November 18th:

The less partisan throne speech comes with promises of a more civil Parliament, following the Oct. 14 federal election.

Although pledges to cool down the parliamentary rancour have been made in the past, some are suggesting moves to address the economic downturn could achieve those goals.

"There seems to be a consensus that we want to be very serious in how we approach everything that flows from the economic instability facing our nation and indeed facing the planet right now," said Jay Hill, the new Conservative House leader, who took over the position from Peter Van Loan.

"On our team's part, we certainly want to see a new tone. We intend to do what we can," said Hill.

"We strayed from [civility] towards the end of the last Parliament, to the detriment of all political parties."

Now:

The political showdown in Ottawa reached a fever pitch in Parliament Tuesday as Prime Minister Stephen Harper accused his foes of "betraying" voters while the opposition said the Tories have been misleading the country with doublespeak.

During a fiery question period session, where MPs hurled accusations and openly shouted at each other across the benches, Harper said that the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Quebecois want to "scrap" the results of the last election.

Harper also accused Dion of trying to use "parliamentary niceties" to grab power and become prime minister.

"If you want to be prime minister, you get your mandate from the Canadian people, not from the separatists," he said.