'Power should be earned,' says Shea of Liberal-NDP coalition

P.E.I. MP Gail Shea says she's disappointed by the opposition's plans to form a coalition government in Ottawa, which put her cabinet position as federal fisheries minister in jeopardy.

Shea is the first Conservative MP from P.E.I. to sit in Parliament in 20 years, but her time in cabinet might be short-lived if moves to replace the Harper government with a coalition of Liberals and the NDP, with the support of the Bloc Québécois, are successful.

"You have to accept whatever happens, when this vote comes, but I do believe power should be earned and should not be taken," said Shea.

"I do think this is something that was in the works long before an economic update ever happened."

The Egmont MP says there's been a lot of turmoil in Ottawa since Finance Minister Jim Flaherty presented his economic update last week and spurred talk of a no-confidence vote in Parliament.

The opposition parties say the government needed to deliver a package to stimulate the economy in the update. Shea said the Conservatives planned to include fiscal stimulus in the budget at the end of January.

She said she stands behind Prime Minister Stephen Harper's move to cut funding to political parties, which she noted would save taxpayers $30 million. Harper scaled back his original plan to scrap the subsidy altogether and instead said his government would simply freeze the funding at the current rate of $1.95 per vote.

Shea said she's heard from constituents who don't think a coalition is a good idea.