Prorogation
I am aware that this was regarded as a controversial move by some. Most enquiries I have had have been considerate - clear, direct and thoughtful. Thank you. You are entitled to my views on this.
I will address for you a number of questions and comments I have heard. I have picked four of the most frequently asked questions to answer for you.
"Why should Members of Parliament sit around doing nothing on vacation for an extra 22 sitting days from January 25 to March 3?"
When the House of Commons is prorogued Members of Parliament are not on vacation. In fact it is quite the contrary. This time spent in the riding is my opportunity to meet with constituents who are in need of assistance. I also attend community events and meet with groups and organizations. When the House is sitting, these appointments and events need to be arranged on Saturdays or missed altogether. In addition, my correspondence and communications with or on behalf of constituents continues whether I am in Ottawa or in Kitchener. My advocacy for constituents continues.
"Will prorogation mean that work done on all the Bills introduced in the last session will be lost?"
This is a good question. However, I cannot emphasize enough that the work of the last year need not be lost by prorogation.
First of all, there were 63 government bills introduced in the House of Commons in the 2nd Session. Of these, 31 have received Royal Assent and are now law. Of the remaining 33 bills, 17 were at first reading (introduced in the House and no further action taken), 10 were at second reading and referred to Committee and of those only 5 have been on a Committee agenda. The remaining 5were at the Senate level.
It is also possible, for bills to be reinstated at the start of a new session at the same stage they had reached at the end of the previous session. This has been accomplished either with the unanimous consent of the House or through the adoption of a motion to that effect, after notice and debate. The House has also adopted provisional amendments to the Standing Orders to carry over legislation to the next session, following a prorogation.
All Private Members' Bills also survive prorogation. "Since 2003, prorogation has had almost no practical effect on Private Members' Business. As a result of this significant exception to the termination of business principle, the List for the Consideration of Private Members' Business established at the beginning of a Parliament, and all bills and motions in the Order of Precedence, as well as those outside of it, continue from session to session. If consideration of an item at a certain stage had begun but had not been completed, the item is restored at the beginning of that stage, as if no debate had yet occurred. Private Members' bills that were referred to a committee in the previous session are deemed referred back to the same committee. Private Members' bills which have been read a third time and passed are sent again to the Senate." Currently, there are 354 Private Members' bills.
"Isn't it dictatorial and undemocratic to prorogue Parliament?"
In Canada prorogation is a routine, constitutionally-legitimate process. It has occurred 105 times in the last 143 years, an average of once every 16 months.
Throughout our history, the Government has been given the obligation and the right to set the agenda for the House of Commons - for good reasons. While Prime Minister, Jean Chretien prorogued four times. Pierre Trudeau prorogued 11 times while in office. It's probably more frequent in times of minority government.
Of course it would be undemocratic for a government to go for years and years without a sitting Parliament as happened once or twice in British history. Remember, however, that this prorogation extends the winter adjournment by only 22 sitting days. Every important issue will remain open for debate when Parliament resumes March 3.
Remember how long the House was able to drag out its enquiry of what Brian Mulroney did or didn't do twenty years ago? This went on for months and years. We can fully expect, for example, that accusations about what Canadian soldiers did in Afghanistan will not be avoided by this prorogation.
"If Prime Minister Harper didn't do this for partisan advantage, why did he do this?"
Another good question. Mr. Harper is well known as a very smart man who carefully considers his decisions. You can be sure that he realized prorogation would be an opportunity for partisan criticism and not produce any significant partisan benefit. So why did he do it?
I have had the opportunity to work closely with the Prime Minister on issues like restoring veterans benefits to Allied Vets in Canada. It is a privilege and has taught me that our Prime Minister is exceptionally bright, forward-thinking and has clear political principles - principles which balance the rights of the person with the obligations of the state; which try to find the balance between care and cost. For those who don't know Stephen Harper, here is my opinion.I trust him; I have found him to be honourable and I work well with him. He is a serious guy, and these are serious times. Imagine the challenges associated with running a minority parliament, the onset of a world-wide recession, American protectionism and global economic melt-downs - it is unprecedented and I am glad we have him at the helm. I find our Prime Minister handles all of this with great grace.
Late in 2008 an economic crisis, that no one could have predicted, hit us and the resulting recession is reported to be the worst since the great depression. To mitigate the damage, our Government introduced Canada's Economic Action Plan. The plan included one of the most comprehensive stimulus packages in the industrialized world.
While the continued delivery of our Economic Action Plan remains a top priority, the fact is that the economic landscape is fundamentally different today. It is now time to consult with Canadians again. Based on the outcome of the consultations we will refine our agenda and set new priorities. The new agenda and priorities will be introduced in the Speech from the Throne and the new budget in early March.
Over the coming year we will be focussing on completing implementation of the Economic Action Plan and returning to balanced budgets once the economy has recovered, and building the economy of the future.
The Prime Minister has said he wants to "re-calibrate Parliament". The Finance Minister and other members of government are crossing the country gathering input to do this properly. We are spending an additional $60 billion of your money in 2009 and 2010 to create jobs and weather this global recession, just as other countries have had to do. I believe the Economic Action Plan is working, and it just makes good business sense to take stock, catch your breath and create the next component of the plan that also includes provisions for deficit reduction. I am not patronizing anyone when I say that you are the only taxpayer we have, and you have every right to expect the Government to treat your money with respect and if that involves more time for planning, then the time must be used intelligently.
Also, from a legislative perspective, if you had sat in the House of Commons as I have, you might share a similar frustration as me. As you know, with a minority Parliament, the Government relies on working with other parties to pass appropriate legislation. I will not forget how pleased I was when the Liberal leader said he would support our 'modest criminal justice reform on behalf of Canadians, and how disheartening it became to see our legislation gutted by his Liberal Senators. I found that to be particularly disingenuous. So what is going to happen now?
Also, the Prime Minister has made appointments to the Senate to replace retiring Senators. This will give the Government a majority in the Senate. We would prefer to have Senators elected to fixed terms, but these Senate reform measures are not in place. As a result, prorogation of Parliament is helpful to enable the Government to have a stronger re-composition in Senate committees. Unfortunately, recent history has shown the Senate's unwillingness to enact legislation as expected - even to the frustration of the Opposition parties. It is time to have a Senate that works with the elected House of Commons, not continue with a Senate controlled by those who won't. This will benefit us all.
I hope this information provides you with a better understanding of how prorogation works.