Angry in the Great White North

Ottawa will be the scene of potential fireworks tonight:

London-Fanshawe MP Pat O'Brien has issued an ultimatum, saying he and an unnamed Liberal MP will vote against the minority Liberal government in a series of confidence votes Tuesday night unless the same-sex marriage bill is delayed.

Of course, Justice Minister Irwin Cotler said back in January that there would be no negotiations:

Justice Minister Irwin Cotler rejects the Catholic Church's call for the federal government to delay a decision on same-sex civil marriages by invoking the notwithstanding clause to override the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

"Rights are rights are rights," Mr. Cotler said in response to a letter sent yesterday by Toronto Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic to Prime Minister Paul Martin urging him to preserve marriage as a heterosexual right for at least five years so a broader public debate can be had.

So what does this mean?

O'Brien, who left the Liberal caucus this month to sit as an Independent over the gay-marriage issue, told CBC News that he will continue negotiating with Liberal officials in the hours before the voting begins at 10 p.m. EDT.

He wants a promise, in writing, that the passage of the same-sex marriage bill will not happen until after Parliament resumes in the fall.

First, I think we can assume that Irwin Cotler is not in on those meetings. His presence would not be helpful.

Second, given that the Liberals denied what everyone heard on tape in the Grewal matter, the likelihood that they would consider themselves bound to a piece of paper is small. They'll probably claim the paper was altered in some way, and that Mr. O'Brien was not offered anything, blah, blah, blah.