Harper to prorogue Parliament... again!

As the CBC has reported, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has again shown his disregard for our democracy by asking the Governor General to prorogue Parliament in the middle of session.

While it's no doubt unlikely that we can change anything, at the time of this writing the GG hasn't yet publicly responded.  So I suggest we all send GG Michaelle Jean a message expressing our outrage.  The GG's e-mail address is info@gg.ca.  If enough people weigh in with their opinions, there's a chance we might convince her to save this session of Parliament and force the government to be accountable to the people.

Here's the text of the message I sent the GG, feel free to use it as a template:

Dear Ms. Jean:

I've heard that Prime Minister Harper has again asked you to prorogue Parliament.  As your response has not been publicly announced yet, I implore you to deny his request.

Proroguing Parliament is not in Canada's best interest.  At stake is $1 billion in Employment Insurance increases which will die along with other very important legislation.

Perhaps more important is the question of whether Mr. Harper can be allowed to turn proroguing Parliament, something which should be seen as an extraordinary measure, into a common occurrence that allows a government to dodge accountability.

With motions passed in the House calling for a public inquiry into the Afghan detainee issue, and calling for the government to disclose all information it holds on this issue, allowing Mr. Harper to prorogue Parliament is to allow him an abuse of process.

Mr. Harper is demeaning our Parliamentary system by treating extraordinary measures like proroguing Parliament as mere tools of political gamesmanship.  Under Mr. Harper, responsible government is a thing of the past.  He has systematically undermined government accountability to Parliament.

What Canada needs most right now is an extraordinary Governor General who will put their foot down and protect the integrity of Parliament and Canada's democracy.  Please do not grant Mr. Harper's request to prorogue Parliament.

Sincerely,

Mark Carter


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