Harper ends parliamentary session

It will be interesting to see if the opposition actually has the confidence to challenge Harper or if they will just make noises. On the Afghanistan issue Layton could play the same game as before by not voting for the BQ motion of non-confidence based upon the lack of a promise to withdraw from Afghanistan in 2009 on the grounds that we should withdraw now.
Not only crime bills are left unpassed but most importantly the environment bill. Oh well the Tories will be able to get out and campaign for John Tory in Ontario.

Harper ends parliamentary session
will introduce throne speech in October

Richard Foot
CanWest News Service


Wednesday, September 05, 2007


OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Tuesday pushed the country a step closer to a possible 2007 election, choosing to prorogue Parliament and open a new session Oct. 16, rather than resume the current session as scheduled on Sept. 16.

The one-month delay means Parliament must now reconvene with a throne speech - followed by a House of Commons vote of confidence on the speech in which the Conservative minority could be defeated, prompting a federal election.

Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe has said his caucus of 48 MPs would vote against a throne speech this fall if the government failed to make a clear statement in the speech that Canadian troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by February 2009.

So far, Harper has only said he would seek a parliamentary consensus on a new role for Canadian forces beyond that date.

It's less clear from their statements Tuesday how the Liberals and NDP will vote on the throne speech.

The NDP have been demanding for months an immediate withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. The Liberals say they want an end to Canada's combat mission in 2009.

Liberal Leader Stephane Dion said Tuesday he wants a commitment in the speech that Canada will formally notify NATO of the February 2009 deadline.

He also wants Harper to unveil the wording of any motion to be voted on by MPs this fall on the mission's future.

It will take all three opposition parties together to bring down the government. Recent opinion polls have the Tories and Liberals in a virtual tie in voter support.

Peter Van Loan, the Conservative House Leader, said the government understands the risks of a throne speech and is prepared for an election if one comes.

"As a minority government, we've obviously had to be ready to fight an election at any time, but it's our intention to continue to govern," he said.

"At the start, our approach was, 'what can we accomplish in a minority government in 18 months?' Now that we've accomplished our priorities, it's a good time for a new start."

In a brief written statement Tuesday, Harper made no mention of Afghanistan. He said he was proroguing Parliament in order to "launch the next phase of our mandate."

"The first session of the 39th Parliament was exceptionally productive, especially for a government in a minority situation," he said. "We delivered on all the major commitments we made to Canadians during the 2006 election."

Whether he intends to precipitate an election fought over Afghanistan - or whether he simply wants to relaunch his government with a new throne speech - Harper's decision to prorogue has other benefits for the Conservatives.

It frees up legions of federal Tories to help their provincial counterparts campaign in the upcoming Oct. 10 Ontario election.

It also means, says Dion, that Harper and his cabinet will endure one less month of questioning and scrutiny by opposition members in the House.

"It's unfortunate that Prime Minister Harper decided to prorogue the Parliament after failing to address issues such as climate change, Canada's mission in Afghanistan, or his record of broken promises on matters such as income trusts or equalization," said Dion, "(and) there are a number of important pieces of legislation that will be lost because of the prime minister's decision."

Among the pending legislation that will now die on the order paper, the most politically charged is Bill C-30, the government's climate change law, which the Conservatives had been backing away from ever since a parliamentary committee tried in the spring to give it more teeth by including tougher regulations for industry.

But the Conservatives will also lose several bills they were still championing, including a number of Criminal Code amendments, one of which would have raised the age of sexual consent to 16 from 14.

Those bills will be delayed, but they can be re-introduced in the next session.

NDP Leader Jack Layton said proroguing Parliament was no different than locking out employees from their workplace.

"Students have gone back to class. Working families are back from vacation. Why is Stephen Harper locking MPs out? Why is he stopping us from getting back to work for students and families?" said Layton. "The prime minister should be ashamed for shutting the doors of Parliament."