

Canada's Parliament

Harper goes prorogue


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Frankly extending the time that politicians are absent from parliament by three weeks does not constitute a political crisis. As you can see from the hysterical comments on this board the Harper Haters are out in full force. This is just a continuation of the partisan nonsense that occurs everyday in Parliament and generally sickens most Canadians. It would be nice to have a grown up conversation about our country unfortunately this is becoming more improbable. Most Canadians are relieved to get a break from the crisis-a-day crowd I guess they are amusing themselves by writing online. So be it most Canadians have other more important things to be concerned about.

RJ Wells

Those who say other governments did it plainly did not spend the time to read The Economist article on how this time it's different. Specifically, in the past Parliament was prorogued for shorter periods of time and only after the legislature had completed its work.

RJ Wells



Thank God for the Economist. Canada has no free press. We have CanWest Global, a right wing news organization that runs most of our papers, and has rubber-stamped Harper's nonsense. Don't get me wrong, The Economist is conservative, but at least they have principles, and are willing to call out their fellow conservatives when they're wrong. Too bad journalistic principles went down the toilet in Canada and we're stuck with the Globe and Mail and the National Post (aka National Globe). Hey Economist, according to the Globe, you're "venting your spleen." Someone should tell the Globe to stop being such passive nitwits and start behaving like professional reporters.


johnny canuck is right Harper is the focus of what is bad with Canada because Harper is the worse thing ever to happen to Canada. This man is a dictator who is killing democracy in Canada.He doesn't have the guts to face parliament so he prorogues. He has pushed the cause in Separatism in Quebec by declaring Quebec a nation and has pushed the cause of western separatism by pitting Canadians against one another.


AND let me add a reduced level of communication between the harper government, his initiatives and the public. Most of what Canadians understood about the nature of meetings with the US president is a result of American media outlets. I believe to a great extent that democracy is about people electing others to complete certain initiatives they promised, and not generally making decisions for us. This is the clear direction Harper has taken Canadians. He's at the helm, and we'll go where he takes us. This is not necessarily where we want.


@ Winni-Pig.
You obviously miss the point. Contrary to what you may believe, this is still a real world. You champion these 80,000 people who make a few clicks a facebook site, and then spend the rest of the night searching Youtube vids of dancing cats. My point is, big freaking deal!

I live in Toronto. Last year, 100 Tamils shut down the busiest artery into this city (the Gardiner). Did I enjoy that? No! But that is real action - not "virtual" bluster.


As a Canadian citizen myself, I would appreciate if the economist were to run a national perspective or evaluation on Canada as it did for Brazil, United States and other nations. I hope that the somewhat unfavourable publicity caused by such an evaluation will spark a fire under the government and its people to smarten up. Im embarassed by our (lack of) environmental commitments. Other notes include a brilliant education system with a terrible retention rate (see brain drain), an unbalanced economy, poor foresight and planning to the opening of the arctic and sovereignty control, global aid commitments made in 1969 by Trudeau still not met,...I love my country. I just wonder in what direction we're headed, especially when Harper takes a time out to play when things get tough.


The problem with the Parliamentary System is that it has this political largasse called "Prorogue," which gives a Prime Minister the power to put the opposition out of daily politics.

The best way to correct such political aberration is to eliminate the "Prorogue Clause," or go for a Republican System like the United States.


Stephen Harper is not the inheritor of Brian Mulroney. The current Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) is not the old Progressive Conservative Party that brought us Brian Mulroney, Michael Wilson and Joe Clarke and others.

The CPC is the right wing chrisitian evangleical Reform and Alliance parties rebranded after Elmer`s baby boy Peter broke a promise. Perhaps Elmer, Peter and the rest of the old guard thought they could take control of the wealthier and more grass root supported Reform and Alliance groups but they failed and we are stuck with Prime Minister Harper (don`t confuse respect for the position with respect for the bully who currently holds it).

I keep waiting for Harvard Business Review to do a case study in marketing on the rebranding of the Alliance Party as the Conservative Party of Canada. Outside of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba most CPC voters would never have voted Reform or Alliance. Brilliant marketing and strategy combined with the short memory of the average voter and we have the man who is currently diminishing the status of a Canadian Prime Minister at home and abroad.

Happy to sign my real name.

John Burgess
Montreal Quebec

Jonny D

Thank you Economist for publishing this! The more people who are aware of what is going on in 'Cool Canada', as this newspaper called us only a few short years ago, the better.

Harper is a wanna be dictator who cares nothing about this countries cherished democratic process. His proroguing of parliament twice in little more than a year is only half the story here, he and his oil funded hacks have shut out the media, denied accountability, restricted longstanding human rights in this country and many many more issues.

I can not wait for the next election so we can kick him out and he can moved to Texas, his spiritual homeland. Canada is better then this.
For the record I am, nay was, a card carrying Progressive Conservative before the looney right took it over.


mdpman wrote: So now, because 80,000 people posted a pseudonym on a facebook site, this therefore equates to a groundswell of outrage

-- that's where you're wrong, as is anyone who tries to dismiss the 87,000 names on the FB site. Many of my FB contacts are now members of this group, and I can assure you that they are flesh and blood people operating under their own names!!

Celtic Warrior

I trust David Cameron and his Conservatives are paying very close attention - to paint a moral and to adorn a tale - at the foibles, missteps and intransigent bad faith demonstrated by Stephen Harper and his ill-advised advisors. These people are not my grandparents Conservatives. We will not let them destroy our country.


I signed up just now to thank you for reporting on this issue. I am duly impressed. Harper's prorogation is a disgrace (as was his last prorogation), and deserves to be the centre of attention in the months to come.

Canadians deserve better

This editorial is bang on. Thank you for your coverage. Canada needs as much help freeing ourselves from this despot as we can muster. He campaigned and won on accountability and instead he has beaten down almost every institution of government to its knees and placed himself in an ivory tower. My ancestors fought and died against another man like him we do not wish to meet again.

Bolt Upright

I'm almost as disappointed in our Governor-General, Michaelle Jean, as I am in Harper. It's her responsibility to distinguish between legitimate proroguation and the suspension of Parliament for partisan purposes. If she's not prepared to defend the national interest and say no when she must, then we can do without her. She and Harper both need lessons in civic politics.


This a complete non-issue to me as Joe Average-Canadian. So the politicians get a few more weeks off - they'll do less damage that way (tell me, are you more concerned when Gordon Brown is in his TV room eating Cheetos, or when he's trying to map the future of your puny Isle?....).
So now, because 80,000 people posted a pseudonym on a facebook site, this therefore equates to a groundswell of outrage. To me it means: It's too cold to go outside, so in between video games, lazy frat boys see the pop-up: “GOVERNMENT BAD?”. Their response is, “hey, where do I click?”
You guys have bigger problems than we do. Mind your own back yard.


The current Prime Minister has been disseminating a lot of quite false information about the constitutional framework of our Parliamentary Democracy. We do not democratically elect the Crown/government - we democratically elect a Parliament. It is entirely within the parliamentary tradition and constitutional framework for coalitions to form and dissolve (not/not coup d'etats). You do not have to be an elected member of Parliament to be the Prime Minister of Canada. The legal and ethical legitimacy of the government rests entirely on its enjoying the 'confidence' of Parliament. Major safe guarders of the system report directly to Parliament - with no Parliament the Auditor General can not report wrongdoing on the part of the Government. Same for Privacy, Access to Information etc. ... .If you have a government that defies or arbitrarily dismisses Parliament you are a good way back to the situation of 1626 which eventually ended, apart from Charles the First's terminal headache, with parliament answering the order to prorogue with a defiant 'we will not go'.

It is not clear whether the current Prime Minister is more interested in - the relatively unfettered and arbitrary executive powers of a parliamentary system with a neutered parliament or - doing a stealth conversion of Canada into an American styled republic either with or without an anschlus with the United States.


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