OTTAWA — If you were banking on tax cuts promised in February's federal budget, hoping for a national child care program or planning a same-sex wedding this summer, a national election will likely spike your plans.

A long list of government bills - from same-sex marriage legislation to new protections for children - will be lost if an election is called.

Federal opposition parties, particularly the 99-member Conservative caucus, are threatening a snap spring election over scandalous revelations at the sponsorship inquiry.

If the minority Liberals fall, spending goodies promised in February's budget will be lost, the government warns.

Canadians will be hurt if they can't get promised personal and corporate tax cuts, improvements to RRSP investment rules, more money for seniors and millions for city transit systems, roads and sewers, says Finance Minister Ralph Goodale.

Opposition MPs are putting their own political interests ahead of the public good by threatening to bring down the government, Goodale charges.

"In a minority . . . it is especially incumbent on the opposition to weigh those factors - their partisan interest versus the best interests of the economy, the best interests of investors, the best interest of taxpayers," he says

"Canadians are naturally basing their go-forward behaviour on the expectation that this very popular budget will come into effect . . . and it is unfair to Canadian citizens and taxpayers to stymie their expectations."

Opposition critics accuse the Liberals of resorting to fear tactics in their effort to stave off an election.

After Prime Minister Paul Martin travelled to Vancouver on Friday to publicize a deal to share federal gasoline tax revenue with cities, Conservative John Reynolds was quick to deny claims that the agreement would be jeopardized if Stephen Harper takes power.

"The bottom line is we will live up to any contract signed by this government," Reynolds declared.

"That's the tradition of any government, not just the Harper government. So this prime minister can't go around scaring people about us cancelling deals that he makes."

But it's not just voters' wallets that will take a hit if several bills die on the order paper.

Controversial social legislation such as the same-sex marriage bill hang in the balance, thanks in part to Liberal dithering, says NDP House leader Libby Davies.

"The Liberals themselves dragged along at the beginning . . . that's been one of the big problems here; (Liberals) haven't been able to manage the agenda," she said.

It's the same with the bill decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana, which is stalled at the all-party justice committee.
Complicating matters is strenuous Conservative opposition to both the pot bill and the same-sex marriage bill, which Davies says has dragged things out.

"That's what this has come down to, using people's human rights as a (political) platform."

Canadians have told pollsters they don't want a spring election, so if the Conservatives bring down the government they'll do it in defiance of voters' wishes, said Scott Reid, a spokesman for Prime Minister's Office.

Defeating the budget bill in particular will hurt voters, said Reid.

"It will actually extract a cost . . . in terms of environmental spending; there will be no national child care program; no gas tax flowing to communities.

"Whether it's RRSP changes, health, greener parks - all of these benefits are held hostage to the electoral game plan of the Bloc Quebecois and the Conservatives."

Goodale's budget plan includes a down payment of $700-million for the provinces to spend on child care as part of a $5-billion, five-year plan.

A share of the gasoline tax of 1.5 cents per litre was promised for municipal projects including transit, and $5 billion over five years for meeting Canada's commitments under the Kyoto protocol on climate change.

Bay Street is closely watching to see what becomes of a Goodale promise to eliminate the foreign content cap on pension investments - a move the investment business warmly applauded.

Investment houses say plans to take advantage of the new rules are on hold, creating financial market uncertainty.

Opposition finance critic Monte Solberg, who like Reynolds accuses the Liberals of scaremongering, says a Conservative government would very quickly pass similar RRSP legislation, go further with tax cuts and improve guaranteed income supplements to seniors.

Besides, the Liberals aren't yet completely powerless, he said. They still have time to implement certain spending measures, such as the resource deals with Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.

"The Atlantic accord is something that could actually be pushed through by the government, even during an election campaign if they chose to pursue it," Solberg maintained.

That deal, which is tied to the budget bill, would allow Newfoundland and Nova Scotia to keep all their offshore oil and gas revenues and still receive federal aid to help provide social services at the same level of other provinces.

That special arrangement has angered some provinces - such as Saskatchewan which wants a similar deal.

But the most controversial item on the order paper may be the same-sex marriage bill.

Davies calls that a top priority because it involves human rights. "I think we would be a big loser if that bill went down," she said.

But gay activists are more sanguine.

"There's no question that this is an issue that has been with us for a long time," said Alex Munter, a spokesman for Canadians for Equal Marriage.

Top courts in most provinces and territories have already declared same-sex marriage legal, so Ottawa's law was primarily a formal recognition of existing practice, he said.

"The issue is crystal clear and Parliament has the last word: does the Charter of Rights apply to gays and lesbians in Canada?"

Other pieces of social legislation would also be jeopardized if the government fell.

Bill C-2 was introduced last October to amend the Criminal Code and the Canada Evidence Act to "protect children and other vulnerable persons from sexual exploitation, violence, abuse and neglect."

A whistleblower protection bill for public servants is also in the works, as well as a bill allowing generic drug companies to sell cheap AIDS medicines to Africa.

The drugs-to-Africa bill, the brainchild of former prime minister Jean Chretien, was first floated more than three years ago.

That illustrates how long many Liberal initiatives have been around, said the NDP's Davies.

"It seems they just recycle things . . . after so many failed promises, people become cynical about their complete inability to even deliver on their own agenda."