When Proroguing is Undemocratic!

A minority government has only been given the power to prorogue parliament 4 times in the history of Canada. Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party would make you believe it is routine and has happened over 100 times since 1867. It is only routine with majority governments. There is nothing wrong when a Prime Minister asks the Governor General to prorogue parliament IF there is a majority government in place. It is not a threat to democracy because the majority of members in the House of Commons support the government in power. When a government is in minority status, the Governor General of Canada should not allow the government to prorogue unless it has been approved by the House of the Commons first.

Only 4 governments in the history of Canada have prorogued parliament under a minority government. William Lyon Mackenzie did it 4 times during the 14th Parliament and Lester B. Pearson prorogued the 26th Parliament twice. Stephen Harper has prorogued 2 parliaments 3 times in 27 months – the 39th Parliament on September 14 2007 (for 31 days) and the 40th Parliament on December 4 2008 (for 52 days) and on December 30 2009 (for 62 days). It is against all principles of democracy when one person (the Prime Minister, who represents only one riding in Canada) and with the backing of only a minority number of members of Parliament (the Conservative members) can prorogue parliament.

The will of the majority of members in the House of Commons who represent the majority of Canadians should prevail. Only they have the right to decide whether parliament should be prorogued or not. How can parliament be delayed and postponed, putting a gag on the majority of members of the House of Commons whom Canadians voted for? It is the right and duty of the opposition members to question the Conservative minority government and ensure that is running the country in the best interests of the majority of Canadians. Our parliamentary system and our democratic rights are under attack and it seems that even the Governor General can do nothing to protect us from Stephen Harper’s abuse of power. That is why prorogation in this case is dead wrong and a threat to our democracy!

The end of democracy in Canada

A year ago, Stephen Harper didn’t even know what proroguing meant. He discovered very quickly however, that with the Governor General’s approval he can stop parliament and democracy at will. He has now used it twice in one year. The first time was to prevent his government from being defeated in a non-confidence vote when he had lost support of the majority of members of the House of Commons. Now Mr. Harper has again prorogued Parliament to prevent the opposition from proving that his government has been hiding information about the torture of detainees in Afghanistan. He will now get paid to do nothing but prevent democracy from finding out the truth. And then when he re-instates Parliament with a throne speech in early March, he will count on our nationalistic pride following the Olympics to bail him out. Then he can continue to govern in secrecy and with total contempt for democracy and with no respect for the opposition parties. The issue of the torture of Afghan detainees will be behind him while he tries to sell to Canadians his record on the economy. (The Party that said they would never run a deficit!)

Mr. Harper is even trying to set a precedent by making us believe that the Senate should have a majority of members in it that supports the government in power even if it is a minority government. This is absurd! What happens down the road when another Party ends up running the country and the Senate is made up of the majority of members of the opposition parties? Do we prorogue Parliament again? The Senate is there to re-asses bills passed in Parliament not to rubber stamp them. Stephen Harper has never understood that he and his Party do not represent the majority views of Canadians for he did not succeed in electing enough of his party members to form a majority government. Yet we and the majority of voters in Parry Sound-Muskoka continue to reward and support a Conservative Party that runs the government as if we did not live in a democratic country. And those who oppose the government or want to find out the truth or expose the government’s weaknesses are not allowed to speak, are made to look bad or are dismissed. Stephen Harper continues to be a bully that runs a government which is secretive and partisan and lacks transparency of any kind. It is a shameful time for Canada. Maybe voters should send a strong message at the next election and exercise their democratic right by voting for any party but the Conservatives.