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Prorogue

House votes to limit prorogation powers

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Sat, 03/20/2010 - 10:10am

OTTAWA – The New Democrat motion to limit the Prime Minister’s powers to prorogue Parliament was adopted by a majority of the House of Commons – major victory for democracy and transparency of government.

“Since taking office, Stephen Harper has used prorogation as a tool to dodge accountability,” said New Democrat Leader Jack Layton. “This power was never meant as reset button. This motion will now hopefully curb the abuse of prorogation.”

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Harper tough on crime? Not at all

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Wed, 03/10/2010 - 12:13am
By John Hutton, Winnipeg Sun

Despite having spent most of last year arguing that his “tough on crime” agenda was urgently needed, Stephen Harper killed off most of it when he prorogued Parliament.

This means the legislation will have to be re-introduced and debated all over again over the next few months.

It is also a second chance for Canadians to see that his initiatives aren’t going to accomplish much, but they are going to cost taxpayers a lot of money.

Harper’s agenda involves increasing the amount of time people have to serve in jail or prison (at taxpayer expense) by imposing more minimum sentences, and making it harder for inmates to get parole.

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We might as well pay the mafia

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Thu, 02/11/2010 - 7:52pm
Jonathan Ryan
 
The proroguing of Parliament has been all over the news lately and whether or not you believe that Mr. Harper has the right to use the option to prorogue parliament the way he has, one thing is certain: He has not been on vacation.
 
With the appointment of five new senators, Mr. Harper has tipped the balance of the senate further towards the political right. Now, it’s time to dust off some old plans.
 
You see, conservatives (and I mean conservatives in general, not just the political party) are a lot like communists. They’re both obsessed with undertaking courses of action that have been proven to be ineffective (often highly ineffective) in the past.
 
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House leaders warn government: don't count on our legislative support

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Mon, 01/25/2010 - 5:55pm
Government House Leader Jay Hill says the government's main legislative priorities are the next budget and economic issues.
By Harris MacLeod, The Hill Times
The opposition House leaders are warning Prime Minister Stephen Harper that he shouldn't take their cooperation for granted in the next session and say his government has "soured" the atmosphere in the Commons by proroguing Parliament.

 

"It will be quite tense," said NDP House Leader Libby Davies (Vancouver East, B.C.) of her expectations for the resumption of Parliament, March 3.

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Libby joins Vancouver rally against prorogation January 22, 2010 Press Release

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Fri, 01/22/2010 - 6:32pm
MEDIA ADVISORY
NDP MP LIBBY DAVIES TO JOIN VANCOUVER RALLY AGAINST PROROGATION
 
Vancouver – Vancouver East MP Libby Davies will join hundreds of concerned citizens at Saturday's “Rally for Canada, Stand Up for Democracy!” protest starting at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
The Vancouver rally is one of many that will take place across Canada to protest the Conservative Government’s move to shut down Parliament by proroguing the House of Commons back in December, 2009. Participants will march from the gallery to Victory Square.
 
WHAT: Rally for Canada, Stand Up for Democracy!
WHEN: 1:00 PM SATURDAY, JANUARY 23
WHERE: VANCOUVER ART GALLERY to VICTORY SQUARE
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Layton calls for limits on powers to prorogue

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Thu, 01/21/2010 - 4:51am
CBC News
 
There should be limits on the ability of the prime minister to prorogue Parliament, NDP Leader Jack Layton said Wednesday.
 
He said his party will call for legislative changes that would require a majority vote of MPs for the prorogation of Parliament.
 
"This will inform the governor general of the will of the majority in the House of the people — that their work has been completed and they want to reset and prepare for the future," Layton said in Ottawa after a caucus meeting. "It shouldn't happen whenever the prime minister feels like it."
 
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Statement by NDP MP Megan Leslie on Proroguation of Parliament

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Thu, 01/14/2010 - 10:29pm
By proroguing Parliament, once again, Stephen Harper is shutting down democracy and locking out Members of Parliament, preventing them from doing the very important work they were elected to do in the House of Commons.
New Democrat MPs will continue to work hard in their ridings. That is what they do when the House is not in session. But MPs need to be able to bring back to Parliament the concerns of their constituents.
 
They won’t be able to, and this constitutes a debasement of Canada’s democratic system.
 
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Academics slam suspension of Parliament

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Tue, 01/12/2010 - 3:25pm
MP Tony Clement says criticism from 'elites' doesn't reflect Canadians' views
 
CBC News
 
A group of university professors is condemning the federal government's decision to suspend Parliament, but the ruling Conservatives appear unmoved by the latest criticism.
 
Over 100 professors have signed a letter written by University of Montreal philosophy Prof. Daniel Weinstock that accuses Prime Minister Stephen Harper of violating "the trust of the Canadian people [and] thus acting anti-democratically."
 
The letter, to be sent to major newspapers in Eastern Canada, is the latest criticism of Harper's decision to prorogue Parliament until March 3.
 
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In proroguing Parliament, Harper accused of undermining democracy

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Sun, 01/10/2010 - 12:56am
By Andrew Mayeda, Canwest News Service
 
OTTAWA — Last October, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson took the podium at the national press theatre in Ottawa and declared that, with the introduction of new legislation by the Conservative government, serial killers such as Robert Pickton and Clifford Olson would no longer get "volume discounts" on their parole terms.
The bill would have given judges the power to slap consecutive periods of parole ineligibility on multiple murderers. A murderer who killed four people, for example, would likely be ineligible for parole for 100 years, instead of the current standard of 25 years.
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Statement by Bill Siksay MP on Proroguing the House of Commons

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Fri, 01/08/2010 - 2:05am
I am very concerned by Prime Minister Harper’s decision to yet again prorogue Parliament.

Suspending sittings of the House to try to “change the channel” and prevent Parliamentary and media scrutiny of government legislation and government decisions flies in the face of democracy.

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