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Canadians Disagree With Prorogation of Parliament
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many people in Canada believe their federal government was wrong to prorogue Parliament, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion published in the Toronto Star. 53 per cent of respondents share this view.
Canadians renewed the House of Commons in October 2008. The Conservative party—led by Stephen Harper—received 37.6 per cent of the vote, and secured 143 seats in the 308-member lower house. Harper assembled a minority administration. The Tories also earned a minority mandate after the 2006 election, ending more than 12 years of government by the Liberal party. In December, Michael Ignatieff took over as Liberal leader, replacing Stéphane Dion.
On Dec. 30, government spokesman Dimitri Soudas announced that the legislative branch would suspend its activities until March 2010, adding, "This is quite routine but it is also important to give Canadians an overview of where we will be taking the country over the next little while."
On Jan. 6, Harper explained his views on prorogation, saying, "As Prime Minister, I think my sessions of Parliament have been a year or slightly over a year, so this is fairly standard procedure. And I don’t think it makes sense for a session of Parliament to go on and on without the government periodically re-examining its overall agenda."
On Jan. 7, New Democratic Party (NDP) deputy leader Libby Davies criticized Harper, declaring, "Canadians want their MPs to be in the House to deal with the important issues facing them and their families. Hundreds of thousands of Canadians are still out of work, they are trying to recover from this recession wondering how or when they are going to find a job."
The next election to the House of Commons is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 15, 2012. Sitting prime ministers can dissolve Parliament and call an early ballot at their discretion. In order to trigger an election, all three opposition parties in the House of Commons—Liberals, NDP and Bloc Québécois—would have to defeat the government in a no-confidence motion.
Polling Data
Do you agree or disagree with the decision to prorogue Parliament?
|
Agree |
19% |
|
Disagree |
53% |
|
Not sure |
28% |
Source: Angus Reid Public Opinion
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,019 Canadian adults, conducted from Jan. 5 to Jan. 6, 2010. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.
