The paper says that would have put Conservative minister Stockwell Day in power. Day was at that time the leader of the Canadian Alliance. The other party was the Progressive Conservatives. Both parties merged to become the Conservative Party that Harper now heads.
The Globe says the disclosure undermines Harper's line that it would never sign a deal like the current one involving the Liberal Party, the NDP and the Bloc. The paper says Bloc officials said that well-known Calgary lawyer Gerry Chipeur sent a written offer before the votes were counted on election day on Nov. 27, 2000.
The paper says prominent sovereigntist lawyer Eric Bédard received the proposal from Chipeur who identified himself as being close to Day."I never had the impression that I was involved in theoretical constitutional discussions," the paper quoted Bédard as saying.
The paper says it was told by a Bloc official that former Parti Québécois minister Rodrigue Biron facilitated the link between Chipeur and Bédard. Biron was part of the unite-the-right movement in the late 1990s.
The paper also says Chipeur held discussions with Joe Clark, the Tory leader at the time, in addition to his discussions with Bédard. It says the discussions were centred on a two-page document entitled "Consensus Leadership for a New Century," as well as a two-page proposal for a Speech from the Throne.
The Globe says Chipeur says he never discussed the matter with Day or other MPs, and was simply getting ready in the event of a minority government. "I was preparing for what might happen," the Globe quoted Chipeur as saying.
The paper says the agreement included room at the bottom for the signatures of Day, Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe and Clark to be signed the day after the election.
The deal was to be presented the Governor-General in the event of a minority Parliament with an Alliance government promise to "respect the legitimate jurisdictions of Canada's provinces, including Quebec."
The paper says the draft document stated: "We agree that we will support Stockwell Day as Prime Minister of Canada."The plan fell apart because the final result of the election in 2000 returned a Liberal majority of 172 seats, a third successive majority for Prime Minister Jean Chretien. The three other parties only had a total of 116 seats. The NDP won 13 seats in 2000. Harper later went on to oversee a merger of the Alliance and the PC Party.
The draft agreement raises questions about statements this week from senior Conservative ministers who are blasting a Liberal-NDP coalition with Bloc support as a "deal with the devil."
In a TV interview on Tuesday, Day said,"The brutal fact here is that something has happened that has never happened before in Canadian history."The current Tory trade minister added: "And that is two federal leaders have actually signed a deal with a separatist party whose goal it is to destroy the country."
Harper has also been involved in deals with the Bloc. While in opposition Harper asked then-Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson in 2004 to turn to him if Paul Martin's newly elected Liberal government were defeated in the Commons.
"We respectfully point out that the opposition parties, who together constitute a majority in the House, have been in close consultation. We believe that, should a request for dissolution arise this should give you cause, as constitutional practice has determined, to consult the opposition leaders and consider all of your options before exercising your constitutional authority," Harper said in a letter to the governor general.
A Bloc supporter told the Globe the 2000 agreement included compromises on contentious issues, such as a promise to respect a straight majority of 50-per cent plus one in the event of a future referendum on Quebec sovereignty.
The move would have gone against the Liberal Clarity Act, written by current Liberal leader Stephane Dion, which calls for a stronger majority.
Day denies knowledge of any deal with the Bloc and calls the report a farbrication. Read the story
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