Proroguing Parliament

Our evil federal government, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper (the Conservative least likely to drag his knuckles, according to the Ottawa Citizen) has developed a nasty habit of proroguing Parliament, that is, recessing Parliament at the time it should normally be sitting. He did it last year to avoid being toppled by the three opposition parties whose funding he was trying to cut. It caused quite a stir when he did it then, just a few weeks after a national election. No one wanted the government to fall that quickly and be forced into another election that would change nothing.

This year Harper has prorogued it until March to avoid criticism about prisoners in Afghanistan being tortured while in Canadian care or being handed over to other authorities, such as the Americans or Karzai's puppet government, who they know will be torturing them. He claimed he needed time to consult business and citizens about the next phase of his economic recovery plan, as though he is incapable of consulting Canadians while Parliament is functioning.

It is quite apparent that Harper is misusing the right to prorogue Parliament, which was meant only for emergencies and for the national good, not just to avoid opposition questioning and to cling to power. His side-kick and Security Minister Stockwell Day, when serving in the Alberta government a decade ago, complained that the government should be allowed to suspend Parliament for half a year so his government could get more done. It seems Harper shares the belief that democracy is not the point of governing, but an encumbrance to be dodged whenever possible.

Our Governor General, Michaelle Jean, allowed both proroguings to occur. Last year I could see her reasoning, so soon after an election, but this year it was so obviously a misuse. I was feeling frustrated about this until I saw the results of a recent opinion poll. The support for the Conservative government has fallen dramatically. A month ago they had a 15 percentage point lead over the Liberals and now it is less than 2%. Hopefully the trend will continue.