Canada coalition members talk of C$30 bln stimulus

OTTAWA, Dec 3 (Reuters) - An opposition coalition seeking to replace Canada's minority Conservative government would deliver a fiscal stimulus package worth C$30 billion ($24 billion), some Liberal Party members said this week.

The three opposition parties -- the Liberals, the New Democratic Party, and the separatist Bloc Quebecois -- have joined forces and are threatening to defeat Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Parliament at the first opportunity over his handling of the economy. Harper may seek a temporary suspension of Parliament to try to prevent the coalition from taking power.

"I think we already said that we would invest C$30 billion. That's in line with the G20 amount," said Martha Hall Findlay, a high-profile Liberal legislator.

She could not say whether that amount would be spent over one year or two.

Media reports have cited the C$30 billion stimulus figure but John McCallum, also a Liberal and senior economic advisor to the party leadership, has declined to confirm it on numerous occasions this week.

On Tuesday, Liberal Member of Parliament David McGuinty also cited that number when talking of fiscal stimulus.

"We're heading for a period of deflation if we don't actually prime the pump and we don't actually have a serious economic stimulus package -- C$30 billion minimum," he said.

When asked if the C$30 billion figure was the coalition's official policy, he appeared to downplay the number.

"Thirty billion is the number we use," he said.

Immediately after the Group of 20 major economies met in Washington earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund recommended countries with fiscal capacity deliver stimulus worth roughly 2 percent of gross domestic product. In Canada's case that would be roughly C$32 billion.

($1=$1.26 Canadian) (Reporting by Randall Palmer and Louise Egan; editing by Peter Galloway)