Prorogue: "to discontinue the meetings of (a legislative body) without dissolving it" http://www.thefreedictionary.com/prorogue

 

For people who don't know anything about how the Canadian government works, or is supposed to work, here's a funny summary of what happened last year:

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi1yhp-_x7A]YouTube- RMR: Canada explained[/ame]

 

 

And now for this year:

 

Parliament suspended until after Winter Olympics

 

Allison Cross, Canwest News Service Published: Wednesday, December 30, 2009

 

 

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has decided to suspend Parliament for two months, his office announced Wednesday.

A spokesman from Mr. Harper said a new speech from the throne will occur on March 3, 2010, followed by a federal budget on March 4.

Canada's Governor General makes the decision to prorogue Parliament, on the advice of the prime minister.

Mr. Harper's spokesman Dimitri Soudas said Mr. Harper and Governor General Michaelle Jean spoke by phone Wednesday, but said he could not give out any details about their conversation.

...

Mr. Soudas also said the government is not proroguing Parliament to quiet investigations into the handling of Afghan prisoners by Canadian soldiers.

"The answer is no," he said. "The committee . . . has found absolutely no evidence of wrongdoing by Canadian soldiers, diplomats and the armed forces."

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2392335

 

 

 

 

[um.. yeah, it still seems to be timed to cover up a public inquiry on torture allegations, whatever Harper's people say.]

 

 

 

Canadian [Prime Minister] Shuts Parliament for 2nd Time

 

 

By IAN AUSTEN

 

Published: December 30, 2009

OTTAWA — For the second time in just over a year, Prime Minister Stephen Harper temporarily shut down Parliament on Wednesday, evoking accusations from opposition politicians that he was abusing parliamentary tradition for political gain.

The move to end the current session of Parliament before starting a new one in March is not routine. Normally, governments take such a step only after several years in power to reset Parliament’s legislative agenda, often as a prelude to an election.

The shutdown killed all legislation making its way through the parliamentary process, including bills championed by Mr. Harper’s Conservative government.

It also shut down all parliamentary committees, including a special one that was raising embarrassing questions about the government’s policies on Afghans detained by Canadian troops before being turned over to the Afghan government. Human rights groups and a Canadian diplomat say the detainees were abused after being handed to the Afghans. Mr. Harper’s government denies the allegations.

In a brief statement, Mr. Harper suggested that he shut down Parliament so that he could introduce a new economic plan in the spring. “While we see tentative, early signs that the economy is emerging from recession, the recovery is still fragile,” he said.

Left unexplained was why the government chose to shut down Parliament rather than simply introducing a new budget.

Parliament was originally scheduled to return from its break on Jan. 25. Now a new session will not begin until March 3, after the end of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

While recent polls have not put the Conservatives decisively ahead, they have shown that the Liberals, the main opposition party, are flagging. Analysts contend that if the Liberals continue to decline and the Conservatives can use the Olympics to their political advantage, Mr. Harper will again shut down Parliament shortly after it resumes in March and hold an election.

Ralph Goodale, the Liberal’s House leader, called the shutdown “a shocking insult to democracy.” Libby Davies, House leader for the labor-backed New Democratic Party, called the move a “political scam.”

Mr. Harper moved to shut down Parliament in December last year to avoid a confidence vote that almost certainly would have defeated his government, which does not control a majority in the House of Commons.http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/world/americas/31canada.html?_r=1&ref=world

Oh, for the record, prorogation is supposed to be a last resort for emergencies type thing. It's not supposed to happen twice in one freaking year so that our stubborn cowardly little despot can advance his own political agenda. :bomb: