OTTAWA - The Harper government is now offering faster delivery of a billion-dollar fund to help struggling one-industry towns after it was accused of blackmailing workers and opposition parties by holding it up.
The Tories announced they will table a separate money bill in the House of Commons instead of lumping the new community development fund into the upcoming federal budget.
The government previously said the fund would only go forward if the federal budget passed -- which meant workers wouldn't get the cash if the budget were voted down. Opposition parties accused the minority Conservative government of trying to avoid being defeated on the backs of unemployed auto and forestry workers.
Provincial premiers not only called the fund insufficient in size but bitterly criticized its delivery method as a heavy-handed political tactic. Opposition parties compared it to blackmail and hostage-taking.
But the government announced its intention Monday to table a separate bill in the House of Commons this week.
If it gets the unanimous support of opposition parties, the government said the bill could breeze through the Commons in a single day and be transferred immediately to the Senate.
"There's a lot of enthusiasm for this plan -- a desire for it to go forward as quickly as possible,'' said Tory House Leader Peter Van Loan.
"We're listening to that and we're taking that step to move forward.''
Most of the workers affected by the plan live in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia -- all of which are being targeted by the Conservatives for growth in the next election.
The NDP saluted the move to hasten delivery. The party has consistently hammered the Tories with accusations that they were blackmailing workers.
New Democrats said they would support the government's move, but continued to call the fund inadequate and vowed to keep pushing for more cash.
"We can now downgrade this to attempted blackmail,'' said NDP MP Libby Davies.
"I guess this is a better situation.''
The Bloc Quebecois was slightly more reticent.
Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe applauded the government for backing down on its earlier strategy, but said he wanted to see the bill before passing judgment.
"It was pure and simple blackmail,'' Duceppe said of the government's earlier approach.
"It was criticized everywhere. They backed down. We're very happy about that.
"Now we'll see what this bill is about.''
The Liberals said the government not only erred with its go-slow delivery plan -- but was also dishonest about it.
"We asked them to stop using laid-off forestry and manufacturing workers as hostages,'' said Liberal MP Pablo Rodriguez.
"They kept saying it's impossible -- it has to be in the budget. Does the government admit it was wrong and that we, the official Opposition, were right from the start?''
But a government official bristled at suggestions of a flip-flop on the fund.
"The prime minister has always said this would require the approval of Parliament,'' he said.
"This is what he's seeking.''
