For a second consecutive January the doors of the House of Commons are closed and Canadians are again denied a voice in our parliament. The recent decision of Prime Minister Harper to prorogue parliament is disturbing enough on its own. This prorogation not only stops the work of parliament, but also derails more than 30 pieces of the government’s own legislation, including several justice and consumer protection bills. All of this legislation, declared essential by the Conservatives, will now have to start again from scratch, wasting not only the time and energy of the many MPs, committees, and committee witnesses, but also the tax dollars spent in the preparation of this legislation.

But, Canadians should be even more concerned about Stephen Harper’s decision to prorogue parliament for a second time in a year, as the latest act of a government that is increasingly unaccountable and dictatorial.

The Honourable Joe Clark, former Progressive-Conservative Prime Minister of Canada, recently commented that he once was confident that all political parties, despite their differences, were working in their own way for the betterment of our country. He now laments that this common, deeply-rooted commitment is clearly no longer present in the current government.

All democratic government systems rely on some form of checks and balances, to ensure that democracy can flourish not only at election time, but also during the term of a government. That is the reason our Canadian House of Commons is so vital. It is in the House of Commons that opposition parties can hold the government to account, and where the government is required to be accountable to the people of Canada. The unfortunate truth is that Stephen Harper’s Conservative government prorogued parliament in late 2008 to sidestep that accountability and avoid a vote of non- confidence brought on by its refusal to focus on critical issues, economic and otherwise, facing our country. Similarly in December 2009, the Harper government again prorogued parliament in its desire to avoid accountability in regard to allegations that the government ignored the reported torture of Afghan detainees and to escape criticism for its failure to address the crisis of climate change in Copenhagen, on behalf of Canadians.

Politically expedient misuse of prorogation is one of the ways Mr. Harper and his government have attacked the roots of our democracy: There are others:

• They actively misled and misinformed Canadians in the last election when they blithely informed Canadians that there was no looming recession, and that our economy was safe and secure under Conservative rule.

• They have systematically cut back funding on advocacy groups established to provide a strong voice for women, the arts, aboriginal groups and others.

• They have actively worked to subvert the vital work of the parliamentary committees entrusted with the detailed work connected to effective legislation and policies. A leaked version of their handbook detailing for their MPs how to tie up and derail parliamentary committees revealed a government cynically working to concentrate power in the Prime Minister’s office.

• The Conservative Party has criticized and ignored any government overseer, like the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who has dared question their methods and policies; they have virulently attacked whistleblowers, such as Richard Colvin, because he revealed information about Afghanistan cover-ups.

• Mr. Harper has cynically broken his promise to never appoint unelected Senators.
The Prime Minister continues to pretend that he is not accountable to Canadians through their parliament. He cannot and must not be permitted to shut down parliament when it is politically expedient for him. Parliament exists to ensure that our democracy is preserved and that government works for the people and the nation, not for its narrowly defined self-interest.

Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada have a minority mandate to govern. They emphatically do not have a mandate to dismantle Canadian parliamentary democracy.

Sincerely,

Irene Mathyssen MP London Fanshawe