Thursday, December 04, 2008

At the Very Least She Owes Us an Explanation


Governor General Michaelle Jean has sailed into uncharted waters, granting Stephen Harper a reprieve from a confidence vote he would plainly have lost. That's all this was about - foiling the will of parliament.

Apparently there are usually conditions attached to this sort of thing - no new appointments during the hiatus, etc.

So, just how did GG Jean handle this issue? She essentially suspended parliament for two months. She owes us an explanation. She needs to explain why she made this decision. She needs to explain what conditions she attached to it.

GG Jean may not like it, but Canada is still a democracy, her actions notwithstanding. By virtue of that democracy she owes us all a clear and full explanation. There's no time like the present for her to explain herself.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Privileged. We won't hear a word about what they talked about.

Anonymous said...

By suspending Parliament against the coalition she essentially put democracy back into politics. It was/is disgraceful what the Libs/NDP/Bloc was up to.

MrvnMouse said...

Anon: By suspending parliament she shut down the voice of the Canadian people, and the 60%+ who voted for parties other than Harper.

You don't get democracy by silencing opposition. You get dictatorship.

Reid said...

1. The GG is appointed and thus "owes" us nothing.

2. If you understood at all what the GG's responsibilities were you wouldn't be surprised by her descision. Her primary responsibility is to ensure Canada has stable government. So looking at her choices re prorogation to grant or not grant it you have 2 outcomes only. If you don't grant prorogation the government is less stable than if you do. Thus her primary responsibility to maintain stable government made her grant prorogation.

The Mound of Sound said...

Anon 11:20, much as you may not like it, every LPC, NDP and BQ MP has one vote in the House and, together, they have a majority which they're entitled to see respected by everyone, including the GG.
And Reid, defying the will of parliament isn't ensuring stable government, it's excusing instable, unviable government. I think GG Jean has ably made the case for abolishing the monarchy in Canada.

Unknown said...

I doubt there are any conditions as she has to rubber stamp actions the Govt would make "In Council".

Of course, with provinces threatening legal action for not filling vacant Senate seats, the Prime Minister should fill all the vacancies. A squad of 35 year old rock solid Conservatives should wake up all those sleepy Liberals and make them earn their pay for once.

The Mound of Sound said...

Well George, that sounds about as democratic as we can expect from your side of the fence.

Tootrusting said...

We need an explanation for future reference. If this enables any PM to prorogue parliament anytime he might lose a confidence vote it is clearly unacceptable.
If on the other hand it is what would have been a maximum of a one week "time out" that has been extended by the normal Christmas break then maybe that is acceptable.
She has to make it clear that any PM cannot just prorogue parliament for a period of time of his choosing to avoid a confidence vote.

The Mound of Sound said...

Toot, you're absolutely right. Unless she believes a GG has an unfettered right to act capriciously, Madame Jean very much needs to explain her actions.

If she has any regard for Canadian democracy she'll do just that.

Anonymous said...

Explanation.

Dumb ass.

The Mound of Sound said...

Gee Christoph, I'm totally in awe of your command of facts and logic. You have the credence of a 9-year old.