By Bart B. Van Bockstaele.
The people of Canada have just witnessed an historic occasion. The Governor General, Michaëlle Jean, has decided to grant a prorogation of the House of Commons until 2009.
After presenting a disastrous financial statement, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his government have lost all confidence of the House of Commons. A vote on a non-confidence motion is planned for Monday, December 7 2008.
In order to avoid this vote, Stephen Harper has asked the Governor General to suspend (prorogue) parliament until after the winter recess, in January. This is historic, because there is no other reason for this request than to avoid the non-confidence motion.
In the House, a coalition has been formed between the Liberal party and the NDP in order to form a new government. This coalition has an agreement with the Bloc Québecois, a separatist party of Québec that has a large following there. This is unique in Canadian history, since it happened only once before, in 1917, during World War I.
In spite of what Stephen Harper has claimed, it would also be perfectly legal. Elections are meant to elect a parliament, not a government. Whomever creates a government that has the confidence of the House of Parliament, can do so. There is no legal reason for new elections.
Since prorogation has been granted however, the future of this coalition/agreement-combination is in question.
We can now expect a major propaganda campaign from the Conservative Party in order to convince the country that they should be allowed to continue after the parliamentary recess.
This decision sets a major precedent because it opens the door to prorogation as a means to exert pressure on parliament. In my opinion, this decision may well come back to haunt Canadian politics in the future.
