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Canada opposition agrees to coalition outline-TV
OTTAWA, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Canada's three opposition parties have reached a tentative deal to defeat the minority Conservative government and then put together a coalition to rule for 2-1/2 years, television networks said on Monday.
They said the deal was struck very late on Sunday at the end of three days of talks between the opposition Liberals and New Democrats, who insist the government must go because it has failed to tackle the effects of the global financial crisis.
A spokesman for the New Democrats said on Monday that the reports "seemed to be accurate, more or less," but declined to give details.
Parliament is due to hold a confidence vote on Dec. 8 and if the government loses, the opposition parties are likely to get their chance to run the country.
The proposed 2-1/2 year lifetime of the proposed coalition is highly ambitious since the Liberals and New Democrats would have to rely on the separatist Bloc Quebecois to keep them in power.
The opposition is also unhappy that the government -- which won a strengthened minority in the Oct. 14 election -- said last Thursday it would scrap public financing for political parties.
Such a move would cripple the opposition parties, which rely much more on public financing than the Conservatives. The government withdrew the proposal on Saturday but the opposition say they can no longer trust Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
The outline deal must be approved by the New Democrats and Liberals before it can come into effect. New Democrat legislators are set to meet in Ottawa at 9 a.m. (1400 GMT) on Monday to discuss the draft agreement.
One potential sticking point is who would lead a coalition government. The Liberals have 77 seats in Parliament to the New Democrats' 37, so Liberal leader Stephane Dion would in theory be the leading candidate.
Dion, though, led the Liberals to such a bad defeat in the Oct. 14 election that he will step down after the party chooses a new chief next May. A move to make him prime minister so soon after such a crushing loss is bound to be controversial. (Reporting by David Ljunggren, editing by Vicki Allen)
