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Winnipeg Free Press > Canada > Grits, NDP fight prorogue power

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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Grits, NDP fight prorogue power

Join to restrict PM's abilities

By: Joan Bryden

26/01/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 8

OTTAWA -- Liberals and New Democrats are joining forces in a bid to ensure Prime Minister Stephen Harper never again shuts down Parliament in what they call his bids to avoid a confidence vote or silence opposition questions on burning issues.

The Bloc Québécois is supportive in principle, but it's warning that efforts to rein in the prime minister's power to prorogue Parliament might not be constitutional. It's reserving judgment until it sees the fine print of the proposals.

Harper isn't waiting to see if the three opposition parties muster sufficient numbers to limit his power. His office is already raising the spectre of an opposition "coalition" conspiring once again to "usurp" power.

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff chose Monday -- the day Parliament had been scheduled to resume until Harper suspended its operation until March 3 -- to announce his party's proposals for changing the parliamentary rules on prorogation.

The proposals would prevent the prime minister from proroguing for longer than one month or within a year of the last suspension of Parliament or when he's facing a confidence vote, unless a majority in the House of Commons consents.

The proposals would also require the prime minister to give at least 10 days' written notice of his intention to prorogue, spelling out his specific reasons for doing so, and allow a full debate on the matter in the Commons.

And they would allow parliamentary committees to continue to function while Parliament is suspended. That measure derives from the opposition conviction that Harper's latest prorogation was designed to silence a special committee looking into the Afghan detainee controversy.

Ignatieff said Liberals will seek to implement the changes through amendments to the standing orders or rules governing the House of Commons. But he said legislation could follow.

The Liberal proposals follow a simpler idea NDP Leader Jack Layton floated last week. Layton said the NDP will propose a bill that would require the prime minister to seek majority approval of the Commons before proroguing at any time.

Ignatieff had initially seemed cool to the idea of imposing limits on the prorogation power. But that apparently changed over the weekend when thousands of Canadians gathered in cities across the country to protest Harper's latest suspension of Parliament.

"I think we're listening to Canadians," said Ignatieff, standing with his entire caucus in front of the doors to the idle House of Commons.

"You don't need rules when people have a certain political character... We're dealing with a prime minister who's shown he doesn't have the political character to respect our institutions so, in our view, a change in the rules is needed."

Harper's office pointed out that the Liberal proposals would have prevented the prime minister in 2008 from proroguing in order to block opposition efforts to defeat the minority Tories and replace them with a Liberal-NDP coalition, propped up by the Bloc. The coalition idea outraged many Canadians, even though the manoeuvre was entirely constitutional -- and Harper had floated a similar idea when he was Opposition leader.

"The Ignatieff Liberals' new policy on prorogation is half-baked, irresponsible and dangerous," Harper spokesman Dimitri Soudas said.

"Clearly, Mr. Ignatieff continues to believe the Liberal-Bloc Québécois-NDP coalition was justified in its undemocratic attempt to overturn the results of the 2008 federal election and seize power."

The Conservatives continue to describe the coalition as undemocratic despite the fact the three opposition parties netted 54 per cent of the vote in the last election compared to 38 per cent for the Tories.

This time around, it's the opposition parties trying to capitalize on a groundswell of public anger over arcane parliamentary procedure.

-- The Canadian Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 26, 2010 A6

8 Commentscomment icon

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lol...I am sure Harper will prorogue government again after these proposals come to light. He is using proroguing in the same manner an ostrich uses the mud to stick his head in to avoid tackling the real issues. I have never seen such a cowardly act of a party...oh what am I thinking? This is the Reform party in disguise so this should not surprise me. I just wish the other parties would get their act in order so we finally have someone worthwhile to vote for. Liberals lost my confidence when they hired Ignat. whom lived in another country for a significant ab=mount of time and now he wants to lead my country. No wonder the youth don't want to vote...there is no one to vote for. uhggg...too frustrating. In the meantime, our economy and environment is going down the drain and the poor are getting poorer. Come on Canada! We deserve better. It is time for us to speak out as a nation and bring our new young leaders into the light and lead our great nation instead of going in the direction of a dictatorship. P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C

It's getting tiresome reading these scripted talking points from conservative bobbleheads who want us to believe that, just because proroguement is a legal tool of government, that this tool can be used for dictarial purposes by an autocratic leader. It's legal for me to drive my car, but it's NOT legal for me to drive away from the scene of an accident that I've caused. Next thing you know, they'll be telling us that if the opposition protests this stupidity that democracy is being threatened. Oh, too late. They've already started.

FYI Trudeau and Chretien prorogued Parliament. Bob Rae prorogued the Ontario legislature THREE times.

Why are they so opposed to the legal use of a constitutional tool when somebody else does it?

Did you happen to notice who was protesting this: the unions, and other communists carrying signs from Socialist Worker.

What a bunch of misled "useful idiots".

A coalition would be much more democratic than a minority government - ask any European. It would promote true debate instead of autocracy.

Mr. Harper is the Canadian equivalent of George Orwell's 1984 doublespeak. While he says democracy, he acts like a dictator, while he says economic responsibility, he gives us deficits, while he says law and order, he makes us all complicit in war crimes.

It is well past time to prorogue his career.

How hypocritical, Our esteemed MPs sat in Parliament a whole 133 of 365 days last yr or just over 4 months out of 12 and the Liberals abstained for the whole time, Now they are making an issue of what amounts to 15 working days?
They behave like children and want us to play along for partisan purposes? they lie when they say Harper is avoiding the afghan issue, it's postponed for 15 days that's all nothing is canceled.
Iggy develop some policies to show us HOW you would handle the country or shut the heck up and sit quietly if your not going to do your job, your a party leader not a community organizer that requires only a loud voice, you require a working plan.
The once coherent Liberal party wants to govern but is now in the same boat as the NDP with no idea how too if they ever got the chance. Pathetic!

Harper still thinks he was elected Prime Minister. It's time to finally disabuse him of this notion.

Congratulations to all those who understand that the Prime Minister is meant to serve the House of Commons and the people of Canada and that the support of a majority of the House is required to govern. Thank you to the citizens who came out to defend our democratic rights this weekend. This was a proud moment for our country.

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