Saturday, January 16, 2010

Yes, I wrote about prorogation and said phooey

And when I said "phooey" I meant that it wasn't a good call on Conservative Prime Minister Harper's part to suspend Canadian Parliament for months at a time.

Click here for details re prorogation.

I mean, Members of Parliament need to stand on guard for me... and thee... and other people too.

And when I wrote a column about prorogation from a Liberal Member of Parliament's point of view I reckoned I'd hear from people who wouldn't agree with my comments or the MP's comments.

Click here to read column re prorogation.

And I did hear the following:

Letter to the Editor - "Gord Harrison's column comes as no surprise... yada yada yada... MP Pearson aught to embrace prorogation and spend this time trying to accomplish something positive for the constituents he is supposed to represent." Signed Sandra B.

And I can only add the following:

"A new poll suggests Prime Minister Harper is paying a price for underestimating opposition to his decision to suspend Parliament. The Canadian Press Harris - Decima survey shows Harper's personal popularity has taken a big hit and his party's lead over the Liberals has been cut almost in half... yada yada." (Jan. 14, London Free Press)

So Sandra, in conclusion, I reckon PM Harper aught to embrace the Canadian work ethic rather than suspend work at his workplace.

That works for me.

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How about you?

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3 comments:

Lost Motorcyclist said...

I have a friend who is for prorogation, and his theory is that Harper needs to develop new techniques to overcome the handicap of a minority government. And that Liberals have done lots of things equivalent to prorogation, so it's only fair.

I think it's quite frustrating that some people are blind to Conservative actions which degrade our democracy, and make excuses thinking they can gain an advantage out of it politically. This is not a Conservative/Liberal issue, it's a democracy issue.

A solution is to get the Liberals and NDP together in one party to stand up to the well funded Conservatives, instead of splitting the votes. They are a big enough threat now to warrant this action.

G. Harrison said...

hi cry,

we can't make hay
if prorogued until May.

Can't do nothing much
if prorogued until March.

GAH

G. Harrison said...

Hi LM,

Very thoughtful comment - thanks.

I agree that prorogation is linked to the issue of democracy, especially at a time when a cooperative house is required to face national and international challenges that are larger than any one party by itself can resolve.

Vote splitting is a very big issue. Even the Greens might be able to fit under one umbrella w the Liberals and NDPs.

When MP Pearson returns from Sudan next week I'll raise the matter, see what he thinks.

Could get another column out of the discussion.

GH