Canadians, who are thought to be so uninterested in politics as to be capable of sleeping through a military coup, seem to have taken some note of the arrogant and dictatorial action of their prime minister in proroguing Parliament.
According to a report by EKOS released yesterday, most Canadians say they are aware of Mr Harpoon's decision to prorogue Parliament so as to be able to rule without having to account to anyone. Roughly two-thirds of those who understand what Harper has done say they disapprove.
Even in American and Britain, where little attention is paid to Canadian politics, eyebrows have been raised. Yesterday I pointed you towards articles in the Guardian and the New York Times. Today I recommend "Harper goes prorogue" (geddit?), an editorial in The Economist.
"Parliamentary scrutiny may be tedious," the writer says, "but democracies cannot afford to dispense with it." Just so.
For a longer and fuller treatment of this theme, consider an op-ed piece by Michael Ignatieff, Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Make fun, if you will, of the Iggster's questionable abilities as a political leader, but you have to give him credit for being a thinker.
Here's the nub of Mr. Ignatieff's argument: This shutting down of Parliament is not a rash or impetuous act. It is part of a consistent pattern of behaviour on the part of Mr. Harper’s government. Whenever Stephen Harper gets into political trouble, his first impulse is to steamroll over democratic institutions that get in his way.
If you agree that Harper's bypassing of Parliament so as to rule directly and without impediment is bad for democracy and bad for Canada, let your voice be heard. And remember it come the next federal election.
Here's my opinion on Harper's proroguing of Parliament.
ReplyDeleteI think this is nothing but a tactical move to avoid accountability. The Afghan detainee issue wasn’t going away, and the longer it remained in the news, the worse the government looks on the issue. The worse it looks, the poorer the chances of getting the numbers needed for a majority government. That is, after all Harper’s main goal.
One might argue that that is the main goal of any leader, but at what expense? In this case, it is a crass move to maintain and secure power at whatever the cost. The cost unfortunately is democracy.
Our Parliamentary system is the essence of Canadian democracy. It is how legislation is passed, and it is how the government of the day is held accountable.
Prime Ministers usually prorogue government when the government’s legislative agenda has been accomplished. That is not the case in this situation. The justice bills, along with others, are now dead and will need to be reintroduced in the next session and go through the whole legislative process once again. It seems clear to me that Harper has abdicated his responsibility to govern in favour of playing political games to maintain power.
At real issue is the extent to which Harper has cavalierly dismissed the function of Parliament. When he doesn’t like the extent to which the Opposition holds the government accountable, as in last year’s prorogation, he simply dismisses it. Parliament voted to hold committee inquiries into the Afghan detainee issue. Conservative ministers refused to attend the meetings. I would say they are in violation of their responsibility, since the vote to hold the meetings was by a majority of elected representatives, who represent the majority of voters.