Hedy Fry: Proroguing Parliament part of Stephen Harper’s bag of tricks
By Hedy Fry
As his tactical advisor Tom Flanagan boasts, one of the key tricks in Stephen Harper’s winning bag of strategies is to know how and when to play his hand. He picks an issue that he thinks is of no interest to Canadians but is of political importance to him and slips it in at a time when no one is paying attention. When everyone was gearing up for New Year’s Eve celebrations, and the Canadian Olympic hockey team was being named, the Conservative prime minister, unexpectedly, prorogued Parliament for the second time in one year.
Only this time the strategy backfired. This time everyone decided to pay attention. The media and Canadians, judging by their responses, are offended and for various reasons. While there are those who are jaded enough to say “it’s all a storm in teacup”, the majority of us feel that this latest move by the PM is first and foremost an affront to democracy.
In this Parliament, the collective opposition holds 62 percent of the elected seats. Yet the opposition had no say in the decision to shut down that institution. A parliamentary democracy is based on the will of the majority in Parliament. So a majority government has extraordinary powers while a minority government must be careful not to subvert Parliament’s will. Stephen Harper’s minority government has shown itself time and again to hold Parliament’s will in contempt—whether it is to ignore majority votes on nonconfidence issues (which it often does) or, in this latest move, to silence it altogether when it becomes a “bother”. In a parliamentary democracy, that “bother” is called accountability. When Harper doesn’t want to answer embarrassing questions, in this case regarding the torture of Afghan detainees, he shuts down the valid forum for those questions—Parliament. Ironically this is the same prime minister whose election promise was to improve accountability.
Indeed ironies abound in the wake of Harper’s prorogation of Parliament. He, who often touted his disdain for an appointed Senate, now wants to appoint a Conservative-heavy Senate to pass his bills. Those bills, all 35 of them, which represent a year’s work of both houses of Parliament, the Senate and the Commons, are now, through prorogation, rendered null and void. Ironically, many of these bills were part of the Harper government’s own urgent “tough on crime agenda”. As a result, pensioners and other victims of unscrupulous investment advisors watch in dismay as the Conservative promised “white-collar crime” legislation bites the dust.
Stephen Harper’s argument that he had to take time off for the Olympics was yet another smokescreen. No other prime minister ever felt this to be a necessity before, not even Brian Mulroney whom, as we all know, loved his day in the sun! In truth Parliament had already agreed to schedule a week off for the Games. The further excuse that he needed time to write the government economic plan was equally hollow. Surely the government knew the state of the economy and had the greater part of autumn 2009 to consult and prepare for its budget? Ah! But I forgot, this is the same government that denied there was a recession a year before, and prorogued Parliament to prevent a vote of nonconfidence by the majority opposition. It seems little has changed.
Yet by far the most disturbing part of the prime minister’s move to prorogue the House is the cynicism and lack of lack of respect for Canadians that it displays. To truly believe that the citizenry are too stupid to notice the same old tricks, to “play politics” solely like a game to be won with no sense of service or accountability to the people is reprehensible.
What is it that George Bush used to say? “You can fool some of the people all the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on.” It seems to me that Stephen Harper is taking that advice. Or at least one has to wonder.
Hedy Fry is the Liberal MP for Vancouver Centre.
Comments
15 Comments
Thomas Diaz
Jan 13, 2010 at 4:54pm
Yeah, and so what? There's nothing here that I haven't gotten already heard from pundits, bloggers, and other MPs and leaders.
Why don't you instead enlighten about what you would be doing if you were in government? Or how about sharing with us the important issues for you that prorogation has sidelined?
Sadly this post is long on rhetoric and short on substance. I think it's time for the people of Vancouver Centre to put the good doctor out to pasture...
glen p robbins
Jan 13, 2010 at 5:33pm
I suspect that overall the greatest concern for Prime Minister or Harper or Hedy Fry MP is that voters, particularly in British Columbia, where the people have no confidence in politicians--(even the innocent ones). Campbell is intent on morphing into a "contra-crackpot" (those institutional politicans and media who unwittingly provide bushels of evidence that neo-Marxist theory is spot on)--, who continue to make comments about what is credible, and otherwise pass judgement. These groups in British Columbia, the politicians--the courts--the media have had very little credibility with the great majority of people for many years now. After the last election in May 2009---none of these groups has a stitch of credibility. I know when people are bluffing---and all of these 'folks' hold lousy cards. Time to turn the tables---and tell them what we think of them too.
Stephan Wehner
Jan 13, 2010 at 6:19pm
You wrote, "In this Parliament, the collective opposition holds 62 percent of the elected seats."
Well then the 62% should not let him get away with it!
Stephan
Margaret
Jan 13, 2010 at 9:03pm
Diaz - your post is long on standard Tory talking points, and very short on brains.
Stryder
Jan 13, 2010 at 9:10pm
Unfortunately about one third of the population is too stupid to notice the same old tricks. Then there are those that like dictators because they share a vision with a minority and thus a dictatorship is the only way they can realize their dreams, but you are right most are just to thick to understand what is going on.
Strategis
Jan 14, 2010 at 5:00am
Everything Hedy Fry says above is true. But Hedy is a financial elite establishment hack also - just in the more subtle Liberal Party style. The Liberal Party works with and for the corporations and ultra wealthy cabal in one style, the Conservative Party does the same thing in another. The difference is only in style and degree.
What is needed is much more than another swing from (neo)Conservative to (neo)Liberal , but a real political and social revolution, which will necessitate a new media and a new popular will to study and participate in politics in a new and more meaningful way. The problem is that for this to happen a new media is needed to shed light on the affairs of our country in a more comprehensive, objective and accessible fashion.
The federal government should take the initiative to break up the extreme concentration of media ownership in Canada and to provide strong support for a diverse and vigorous independent media. This is the single most important thing that is need to invigorate Canadian democracy, followed by election reform. Since neither the Liberal nor Conservative government is likely to do this, and the NDP is too out of touch and compromised to understand this either, somehow the media revolution will have to wait until after the political revolution. The political revolution will therefore have to employ the internet creatively to cover national affairs and organise new parties and / or the reform of the existing parties.
Rainbow Pony
Jan 14, 2010 at 10:35am
If all you NPDers would support a progressive party that actually can form a government, rather than one led by a 3rd rate Lenin impersonator, then Canada wouldn't have to have Harper and his Con men running the show.
Ray Mond
Jan 14, 2010 at 11:57am
Is this the same Heddy Fry that helped her patients cheat the MSP system? Ya, that's what I thought. Get someone with credibility, would ya?
Brett Pearson
Jan 14, 2010 at 2:08pm
Well done Dr. Fry! Although obviously partisan in nature, this column actually points out facts that many Canadians are not aware of; parliament was already scheduled to break for the Olympics to name one. Politics is politics and will always be viewed with a raised eyebrow. Those of us who are intelligent enough to see through the smoke and mirrors of the current government will find that this article actually speaks to what is truly a sad state of affairs for Canada and our parliamentary system. Those of us with enough class and education will not attack the author personally because we don’t agree with the points of the article, but build a legitimate counter based on facts. Dr. Fry is simply standing up for the rest of the Canadians who didn't vote blue; her job. I encourage readers to weigh the facts, set aside the liberal spin, don’t build your comments on personal attacks and see that regardless of your political stripe, the way this current government’s arrogance and disregard for Canadians and the political system has been rolled out over the past 16 months is truly a shame and has become another nail in the coffin for Canada's once grand international reputation.
RickW
Jan 14, 2010 at 5:47pm
Rainbow Pony:
"If all you NPDers would support a progressive party that actually can form a government"
And what party would that be, pray tell?
RickW