Ready for another federal election?

Looks like the Libs and Dippers are prepared to die on Hug-a-thug Hill...

-- OTTAWA -- Opposition MPs, including Liberals who have worked on justice issues, say they would plunge the country into another federal election before agreeing to a slate of Conservative proposals that would see convicted criminals treated more harshly.

The measures, including tougher penalties for young offenders and the reduced use of conditional sentences that allow criminals to serve their time at home, are likely to be among the first tests of Liberal willingness to challenge Stephen Harper's new minority government.

Of course, we all know how well the Prime Minister responds to threats...

"I don't think there has been any change in our position around that," Kory Teneycke, spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, told The Globe and Mail.

"We are prepared to make them [justice issues] confidence matters if necessary."

So, lemme see... if I was Stephen Harper, I'd be pushing this one to the top of the legislative agenda... just so I could... once again... go head to head with that formidable eco-warrior Stephane Dion.

That's only fair... right?

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