Proroguing government: Is there a leader in the house?

By Mike O’Morrow [Contributor]

On Jan. 20, Barack Obama celebrated his first year in office as President of the United States.  It has been a busy year for the American president: he signed a $787 billion stimulus bill to fight a recession, fought for major health care reform, salvaged a last minute deal at the Copenhagen Climate Summit, and somehow found time to win the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

On Jan. 26, Stephen Harper celebrated the anniversary of the end of his first parliamentary prorogation.  It has been a busy year for the Canadian Prime Minister as well: he managed to embarrass the country on an international stage in Copenhagen, was harshly criticized by the Information Commissioner of Canada for lack of compliance with the Access to Information Act, dodged questioning on the alleged torture of Afghan prisoners by Canadian soldiers and finally prorogued parliament again, this time until after the Olympics. And in the midst of that busy schedule, he managed to wow Canadians by tickling the ivories to “With A Little Help From My Friends” alongside Yoyo Ma at a National Arts Gallery gala in October.

Is this what we have come to expect in Canada from our elected officials?

It has become terribly tiresome to watch the daily fiasco that is the House – MPs screaming at each other from across the floor with no questions being answered and no issues being addressed.  While Canada largely avoided an economic recession – thanks to the policies of prior governments – partisan bickering and a tarnished view of Canada internationally have marred Mr. Harper’s tenure as Prime Minister.

Michael Ignatieff hasn’t helped.  After ascending to the Liberal leadership, he has failed to rally the Liberal Party and heal the wounds from the Chretien-Martin era.  And now rumours surface of Mr. Ignatieff’s inevitable demise with his longtime friend Bob Rae as his replacement.

And let’s not forget Jack Layton.  Thanks for playing, Jack.

For too long, Canadians have sat by idly and allowed this mess to build.  We haven’t held our leaders accountable and we haven’t forced them to be better.  And as much as we would like to blame our party leaders for their ineptitude, we really can’t.

It’s all on us.

It could be argued that when Stephen Harper was elected in 2006, the votes that put him in office were not cast for him, but rather against the Liberals.  And how many votes were cast in 2008 as a rejection of Stephane Dion, and not as an embrace of Mr. Harper?  A vote should be cast FOR, not AGAINST.

Mr. Harper may have been well within his legal and constitutional right to prorogue parliament for a second time.  That question is better answered by political and legal experts.  But it was a blatant abuse of power within a system that is supposed to hold him accountable for his actions.

This is not meant as a partisan piece.  This article condemns the behaviour of all major parties and their leaders.  What this article should be is a call to action on the part of the Canadian public who deserve better.

In a democratic society, we have freedom of expression, so let your voices be heard.  In a democratic society, we have freedom of association, so join with others to protest our cause.  In our democratic society, we have freedom of conscience.  Let Mr. Harper and all the others know exactly what you think.  Write to newspapers.  E-mail your MP.  Use the power of the Internet and social networking.  Join the anti-prorogation Facebook groups.  Organize rallies.  Get mad.  Send your message loud and clear to Ottawa.