Prorogation to kill Senate reform bill
PM looks to reset government as opposition cries foul
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s decision to prorogue Parliament and launch a new session in October will likely kill a number of government bills — including a stalled bill on Senate reform — and delay the House of Commons from sitting in September as originally planned.
Federal opposition parties say proroguing is an attempt by Harper and the Conservative government to delay accountability on the Senate expenses scandal and the grilling they will face in the House of Commons.
Harper confirmed Monday during a weeklong tour through northern Canada that he plans to ask the Governor General to terminate the current session of Parliament, which was scheduled to see the House of Commons resume sitting on Sept. 16. He also confirmed he’ll lead the Conservative party into the next election, scheduled for October 2015.
The prime minister said his government has fulfilled most of its election promises and it’s time to reset the parliamentary agenda with a speech from the throne.
“There will be a new Throne Speech in the fall. Obviously, the House will be prorogued in anticipation of that. We will come back — in October is our tentative timing — and we will obviously have still some things, still some unfulfilled commitments that we will continue to work on,” Harper told reporters in Whitehorse. “The No. 1 priority for this government, I don’t have to tell you, will continue to be jobs and the economy.”
Harper has previously said the new throne speech, which outlines the government’s priorities, will focus on the economy, promoting safe streets, celebrating the country’s history and promoting Canada’s interests on the world stage.
The prime minister chuckled when asked by reporters whether he’ll stick around to lead the Conservatives into the next election campaign.
“I’m actually disappointed you feel the need to ask that question,” he said.
A number of contentious government bills currently before the House of Commons will die when the Conservatives suspend Parliament.
That means the legislation would likely have to be reintroduced in the new session. Conversely, the majority Conservative government could also pass a motion to reinstate the current bills and resume debate in a new Parliament.
Government bills currently still in the Commons include legislation on Senate reform — which addresses term limits and process for electing senators — as well as a bill that would ban unions and corporations from making loans to political parties and candidates, and another that would place restrictions on offenders who cannot be held criminally responsible for their actions because of mental illness. Harper has referred the issue of Senate reform to the Supreme Court; in any case, the bill, introduced in June 2011, has been stalled in the House of Commons.
The government has not said whether it would recall the House of Commons to pass any bills before suspending Parliament.
Prime ministers in the past have regularly prorogued Parliament between elections to launch a new government agenda.
While opposition parties acknowledge proroguing in the middle of a four-year mandate is a normal use of prime-ministerial power, they believe Harper and the Conservatives are simply looking to delay the return of the House of Commons to avoid the fallout from the Senate expenses scandal.
“He’s running away from accountability,” said NDP deputy leader Megan Leslie.
She said Harper avoided the House of Commons near the end of the spring sitting to avoid questions on the Senate expenses affair that has embroiled the Prime Minister’s Office.
Nigel Wright, Harper’s former chief of staff, resigned over a $90,000 payment to Sen. Mike Duffy, a former Conservative, who is now being investigated by the RCMP over his Senate expense claims.
Along with Duffy, the RCMP are also investigating former Conservative senator Patrick Brazeau and former Liberal senator Mac Harb over improper housing expense claims. The Senate has also recommended the Mounties be called in for a possible criminal investigation into Sen. Pamela Wallin, who has been ordered to repay approximately $121,000 in disallowed travel claims, and may be forced to pay back even more.
“It’s a pattern with him, where if he wants to avoid accountability, if he wants to avoid those uncomfortable questions, then he just hits the prorogue button,” Leslie said.
Harper came under fire in December 2008 for proroguing Parliament to avoid a non-confidence vote that could have toppled his minority Conservative government.
Liberal deputy leader Ralph Goodale said Monday that prorogation is part of a broader government plan “to try desperately to change the channel from the topic of ethical scandals and criminal investigations.” If it weren’t for the ongoing ethical issues and Senate expenses scandal, the prorogation could be seen as routine, he said.
Goodale said the government could easily prorogue on Sept. 16 and start the new session the next day, rather than wait as long as another month or more and avoid question period in the Commons.
“It’s not routine when the clear motivation is not just to establish a new agenda for the next two years but to avoid accountability for the last six months, in particular,” he added.