Harper's Attempt To Save Face To Canada's Cost

Harpers Attempt To Save Face At The Cost Of Canadas Democratic Enlargement

On December 30th, Prime Minister Stephen Harper suspended the Canadian Parliament for the third time since he first took office in 2006 and the second time in just over a year. This comes at a time when Harper has faced increasingly vocal criticism from the opposition. As a leader of a minority government, Harper has been under extreme scrutiny from the majority, especially throughout the past year, due to a biting economic recession. Although the Canadian Parliament usually takes a six-week recess during the winter holiday period, Harper has decided to extend the break until March 3rd.

The decision to prorogue (suspend) Parliament is far from uncommon in Canadian history (it happened 105 times before Harper took over as the nation’s prime minister). However, the timing and possible motives of this decision could be disconcerting, confirming for his numerous critics that he is totally under-equipped for the job. Rather than effective leadership, the head of the Tories was doing severe damage to the country, as he lacked the high-class talent the country needs to prosper. Many observers speculate that Harper suspended Parliament to avoid the disturbing and embarrassing allegations lodged by the Red Cross and Canadian officials accusing Canadian soldiers of, or at the very least knowing about, the torture of prisoners at detention camps in Afghanistan. This subject has brought unwanted press coverage and torrid debate in Parliament at a time when Canada certainly does not need it: Vancouver’s Olympic cauldron-lighting ceremony is just days away. When it is lit on February 12th, the world’s attention will be focused on Canada, with almost every major world television, radio and newspaper having personnel on-location in the country to cover the Olympics.

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This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Nicole Fillion-Robin

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