Chantal Hébert
Harper was in on the ground floor of coalition building

OTTAWA

Far from being a flash in the pan of an opportunistic opposition, the coalition framework cobbled together by the Liberals, the New Democrats and the Bloc Québécois is actually the culmination of a long gestation.

The idea of an opposition-driven makeover of the power arrangements on Parliament Hill has been simmering under the surface of the House of Commons since Canada entered its current cycle of minority governments 4 1/2 years ago.

Ironically, it...

Chantal Hébert, Toronto Star political columnist, cut her teeth in politics at Queen’s Park in the late seventies covering the minority governments of Progressive-Conservative premier William Davis.

Since then she has reported in French and in English on Canada’s constitutional and referendum wars, the 1988 free-trade debate as well as the more recent rebirth of the Conservative movement.

In addition to her columns, Chantal is a regular member of the CBC’s At Issue panel, broadcast weekly on The National.

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