The Forum Research telephone poll last Friday found fully 66 per cent of respondents disapproved of Mr. Harper’s (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) decision to shut down Parliament before its scheduled resumption on Sept. 16 and to delay the resumption until possibly as late as the week of Oct. 21.
The prorogation tactic is unpopular among even Conservative Party supporters, with only 38 per cent saying they approve. By region, opposition was highest in Ontario and British Columbia, regions in which Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) and the Liberals hope to make gains in the 2015 federal general election against both the NDP and the Conservatives.
Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff said Canadians likely understand mid-term prorogations have long been a way for majority governments to reset and begin a fresh agenda, but that voters have soured on the Prime Minister’s motives following his 2008 prorogation, when he asked then Governor General Michaelle Jean to suspend sittings to avoid a confidence vote over fall budget measures and a 2009 prorogation Mr. Harper used to avoid a stormy confrontation with the opposition over the government’s refusal to disclose secret information about Canadian treatment and protection of detainees in the Afghanistan war.
“When correctly used, as it is being this time, prorogation is a perfectly legitimate Parliamentary manoeuvre, but the Prime Minister has poisoned the chalice with his past misapplications of this tactic, and the public now has no patience with it,” said Mr. Bozinoff.
But opposition MPs say voters are likely cynical about Mr. Harper’s motives, and argue he plans to suspend Parliament to avoid questions about impugned expense claims by Independent Senators Pamela Wallin, Mike Duffy and Patrick Brazeau. Mr. Harper appointed all three to the Senate as Conservatives. Former Liberal Senator Mac Harb is also embroiled in the Senate expenses scandal, but resigned from the Upper Chamber Monday, repaying $231,000 in ineligible expenses for which he received reimbursements.
An independent forensic examination of Sen. Wallin’s expenses found she wrongfully claimed $121,348 in travel expenses, all of which she has agreed to repay despite disputing the findings. Sen. Duffy’s case is a greater threat to the Prime Minister, with the RCMP investigating suspected breach of trust over $90,000 Mr. Harper’s former chief of staff, Nigel Wright, gave to Mr. Duffy to repay his impugned expenses. The gift allowed Sen. Duffy to avoid further scrutiny by the Deloitte forensic examination, and also pave the way for lenient treatment by a Senate committee that reported on the wrongful expense claims by all three former Conservatives.
NDP MP Craig Scott (Toronto Danforth, Ont.) agreed voters are put off by Mr. Harper’s use of prorogation in the past, but said the extended suspension of Parliament this time is an attempt to avoid Parliamentary scrutiny.
“Canadians at the time understood that this was completely illicit, and now are not willing to give the benefit of the doubt to the Prime Minister,” Mr. Scott told The Hill Times.
“Even without those previous examples, this has become an abuse of prorogation because, even though one can say we’re going to re-tool and have a new throne speech, he has had an entire summer and planning even before the summer break, summer recess, to organize the new agenda. Adding on four to five weeks on top of the time that Parliament is already away, that’s the abuse,” said Mr. Scott.
“The prorogation itself, to have a new agenda, is not the issue. It’s the prorogation and the time that he’s adding on to Parliament being dead. That’s the issue and it’s pretty serious because the only accountability that this Prime Minister really entertains, when it comes to hard questioning, is his appearance in Question Period. His willingness to appear before the national media is approaching zero,” he said.
Liberal MP Ralph Goodale (Wascana, Sask.) said he believes Mr. Harper has two main goals: to avoid questions on the Senate expense scandal, while at the same time ensuring he does not have to appear in Question Period prior to four byelections that could be held as early as Monday, Oct. 21, once Conservative MP Merv Tweed (Brandon-Souris, Man.) resigns his seat as expected on Aug. 31.
Oct. 21 would be the earliest possible date for all four byelections to be held at once if House of Commons Speaker Andrew Scheer (Regina-Qu’Appelle, Sask.) immediately notifies Elections Canada of the Brandon-Souris vacancy.
Former Liberal MP Bob Rae resigned from his Toronto Centre seat in July. Liberal MP Denis Coderre resigned his Montreal riding of Bourassa earlier to seek election as mayor of Montreal and former Public Safety minister Vic Toews unexpectedly gave up his Manitoba riding of Provencher shortly before Mr. Harper shook up his cabinet in July.
“If this were purely a principle Parliamentary manoeuvre to close off one session, have an intellectual bonanza of new ideas and come back with a prorogation and a new throne speech, all of these other factors wouldn’t matter,” said Mr. Goodale. “But they do matter because this is not a principled Parliamentary manoeuvre with the emphasis on intellectual excellence. This is ‘how do we turn the bloody page from the scandals to something else?’”
Under an Oct. 21 byelection scenario, the byelections could be followed quickly by a throne speech to open the new session, and a national Conservative Party policy convention scheduled to begin later in the week, on Oct. 31.
The Conservatives are expected to retake the two Manitoba ridings, while the Liberals are currently favoured in the Toronto and Montreal byelections.
Conservative commentator Tim Powers disputed the Forum Research findings, saying he has heard no complaints about the prorogation during the summer.
"In 146 years, Canada has had 125 prorogations,” Mr. Powers said. “I have been guest hosting a radio show in Newfoundland and Labrador since the Prime Minister announced prorogation. I have zero calls about it and I have heard nothing about it on the street.”
He added that even the opposition has not made a big fuss over the prorogation. "It is no big deal. If there is lingering opinion against it I imagine it will pass,” said Mr. Powers.
Original Article
Source: hilltimes.com/
Author: TIM NAUMETZ
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