By the Numbers

For those of you keeping score at home, here's the current makeup of the House of Commons:

Liberal: 131 (not counting the Speaker)
Tories: 99
Bloc: 54
NDP: 19
Independents: 3 (Chuck Cadman, David Kilgour, and... wait for it... the redoubtable Carolyn Parrish)
Vacant: 1 (Labrador, left vacant by the death of Lawrence O'Brien)

So the Tories and the Bloc, together, have exactly 50% of the sitting members of Parliament... but then the Speaker would break the tie. In other words, assuming the NDP won't vote to bring down the government (as Mr. Layton implied), one of the three independents has to vote with the Bloc and the Tories.

I am currently giggling with how-the-hell-did-this-happen glee at the possibility of Carolyn Parrish getting her revenge in the most glorious way possible.