Parliament in turmoil

Can a deal between Prime Minister Paul Martin and New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton successfully prop up Martin's Liberal minority government in Ottawa? Or will the Conservatives succeed in defeating the government on a nonconfidence motion — possibly as early as next wednesday? Stay tuned.

For those who persist in believing that the current parliament is dysfunctional, what we are seeing is nothing less than responsible government in action. Under a minority government, for a change, the government of the day must persuade the other parties of the merits of its agenda rather than rely on party discipline to get its way. To which I say: let's have more minority governments. Or better yet, coalition governments, which are likely to be more enduring.