Can Justin Trudeau stomach the smell of a deal with the separatists if that’s what it takes to get him through to next summer?

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Just how profligate is Justin Trudeau willing to be in his determination to eke out a few more months in office? Is the sky the limit, or does there exist a red line beyond which even this prime minister — who in nine years of power has seldom shown a reluctance to run up debt — won’t go?

Yves-François Blanchet, leader of the federal separatist party, doesn’t really know, but he figures it’s worth finding out. The end of the New Democrats’ formal willingness to prop up the minority Liberals changed the official dynamic in Ottawa, leaving Blanchet’s Bloc Québécois and Jagmeet Singh’s NDP two plausible reasons for resisting the opportunity to force an election.

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One is the unique chance the moment offers to squeeze concessions out of the government. The other is the fear an election would produce a Conservative majority, bringing a swift end to that moment. No one can be sure just how long the Liberals will survive, adding to the pressure to make deals now. If the atmosphere in Ottawa in coming weeks takes on the aura of some medieval bazaar, with everyone crowding around the goat dealer, demanding cheaper goats and free goat milk, blame it on the wonders of minority government.

Blanchet........

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