Harper to prorogue parliament AGAIN?

madmax · January 7, 2010

Phht. A partsan poll conducted on behalf of the Liberal Party's flagship newspaper, and you actually lend it any credence? I bet most of the respondants couldn't even spell prorogue and couldn't explain what it was or how many times it has happened in Canada's history.

Perhaps you might take the time to spell Partisan before making accusations that people can't spell prorogue :rolleyes: . At your Belligerent worst again. :angry:

Call the poll what you wish. I highly doubt any other poll, regardless of origin and backer is going to come out with a significantly different outcome.

I have given it its own thread for future polls.

madmax · January 7, 2010

He's not in hot water, not even lukewarm, in fact.

Then the government should go to work not avoid it.

Riverwind · January 7, 2010

Timely Poll.

A poll which left out the most important question: do you actually care about this issue? I suspect you would find that most Canadians don't care about it.

Argus · January 7, 2010

More demonstration that partisans ignore bad news, pay attention only to good news, and even make up good news when its necessary.

Whatever you say, but polls amply demonstrated the Canadian people did not give a damn about the supposed torture "scandal" or whatever the wacky Left titled it. Most hadn't even heard of it and those who had didn't care. So to suggest this was why he prorogued parliament requires a certain suspension of disbelief.

Argus · January 7, 2010

Then the government should go to work not avoid it.

They will continue to work. Parliament simply won't be sitting. I assume the calculation was that once it returns, and with control of the Senate, their chances of getting their legislation through quickly will greatly increase. I don't know if that calculation is correct or not but clearly that is the major focus here.

Argus · January 7, 2010

Perhaps you might take the time to spell Partisan before making accusations that people can't spell prorogue . At your Belligerent worst again. :angry:

Call the poll what you wish. I highly doubt any other poll, regardless of origin and backer is going to come out with a significantly different outcome.

I have given it its own thread for future polls.

Maybe you should give spelling flames their own thread too. That seems to be about the height of your imaginatiom.

Harper doesn't care about you, not in the least. So all your wailing and whining falls on deaf ears.

nicky10013 · January 7, 2010

Maybe you should give spelling flames their own thread too. That seems to be about the height of your imaginatiom.

Harper doesn't care about you, not in the least. So all your wailing and whining falls on deaf ears.

BAhahahaahahahahahah which means he doesn't care about the majority of Canadians, either. THough, I'm not too surprised about that

It took a week, but Prime Minister Stephen Harper has finally deigned to answer questions about his decision to prorogue Parliament until March. In an interview with the CBC's Peter Mansbridge, Mr. Harper called it a "fairly standard procedure," and a "routine constitutional matter." While Mr. Harper has set no constitutional precedent, the manner of the prorogation, and its effect, are neither standard or routine. His actions constitute an insult to Parliament, including to Governor-General Michaëlle Jean, and can serve only to diminish Canada's national institutions. It is a high price to pay for a minor tactical convenience.
If Mr. Harper were sincerely interested in "standard procedure," he would take time from his efforts to "recalibrate the government's agenda" to consult the Parliamentary Calendar, laid out in the Standing Orders. This is what parliamentarians themselves have set out as the normal parliamentary cycle, and the calendar provides for 135 sitting days each year. Mr. Harper has ensured that expectation cannot be fulfilled in 2010. The House of Commons will sit for, at most, about 110 days this year. If there is an election, as many predict, that number will be reduced to about 80 days. That would be too short a time to allow Parliament to attend to the business of the nation.

There is no safeguard to prevent such abuse. Constitutional experts agree the Governor-General was bound to accept the advice of Mr. Harper and permit the government to "recalibrate" - or play a game of hide-and-seek with the opposition over the production of documents on the detainee issue, even if the hide part is to last for two months. As Mr. Harper assured Mr. Mansbridge, it is the order paper that is wiped clean by prorogation. "When Parliament prorogues, for example, private members' legislation is not broken off, it continues," Mr. Harper said, "so the opposition's work will continue." He's right. It is government legislation, including its crime bills, some of them bills that have already been introduced three times, that were wiped from the order paper. And Mr. Harper thinks this is a good thing?

Perhaps most tellingly, Mr. Harper refused to observe the niceties of Canada's traditions. He made his "request" of the Governor-General not in person, but in a telephone call. It might seem like a minor point, but it is revealing. The constitutional expert C.E.S. Franks, a professor at Queen's University, called Mr. Harper's actions "an affront to the dignity of the office of Governor-General," displaying a casual arrogance toward Canada's institutions.

Canadians would be right to wonder how any of this fits with the Conservatives' commitment to restore the public's trust in government.

msdogfood · January 7, 2010

wow bad for the pmo!!.

ToadBrother · January 7, 2010

A poll which left out the most important question: do you actually care about this issue? I suspect you would find that most Canadians don't care about it.

Maybe you're right, or maybe you're wrong. If your a Tory MP in a so-so riding, would you be willing to gamble on whether or not people give a damn?

msdogfood · January 7, 2010

Maybe you're right, or maybe you're wrong. If your a Tory MP in a so-so riding, would you be willing to gamble on whether or not people give a damn?

Hmm!

i think not!!

madmax · January 7, 2010

A poll which left out the most important question: do you actually care about this issue? I suspect you would find that most Canadians don't care about it.

Not following is 34%.

Not Certain is 28%.

This falls along standard voting patterns. In any given riding only 50% to 70% vote.

This is higher then our standard voting pattern. People who vote care.

I suspect even you have an opinion or you wouldn't be commenting.

Strongly agree is a mere 7%

Agree is a mere 12%

Those are not great numbers as they aren't as high as the Not following/Not Certain = Apathetic/not interested numbers.

Argus · January 7, 2010

BAhahahaahahahahahah which means he doesn't care about the majority of Canadians, either. THough, I'm not too surprised about that

Grow up. Politicians don't care about people whose votes are settled, who will never vote for them no matter what. The Liberals feel the same about small c conservative voters and dedicated socialists. Those people aren't going to vote Liberal anyway so the party ignores them.

wyly · January 7, 2010

not following probably translates to "I don't bother to vote" segment of the population so their opinion doesn't matter...

Edited January 7, 2010 by wyly

ToadBrother · January 7, 2010

Maybe you should give spelling flames their own thread too. That seems to be about the height of your imaginatiom.

Harper doesn't care about you, not in the least. So all your wailing and whining falls on deaf ears.

You're right, Harper probably doesn't care about us. What's sad is that he doesn't give a damn about Parliament either. We're in a period of his own Personal Rule here.

wulf42 · January 7, 2010

Yet the Conservatives are still in the lead......hmmmmmmm

ToadBrother · January 7, 2010

Yet the Conservatives are still in the lead......hmmmmmmm

I'm getting a kick at the level of desperation. A few months ago it was "The Tories could win a majority if they wanted", then it was "The Tories are not that far away from a majority", and now it's "The Tories are five points up on the Liberals."

I love being non-partisan. It's so good to see guys like you without rose-colored or black-colored glasses.

madmax · January 7, 2010

They will continue to work.

Try Harder. Flushing down all the legislation and not showing up for work is not continueing to work.

MPs are going to be busy finding the photo op and this is going to backfire.

The Prime Minister has failed to make his case or quite frankly, the answer is to lame to be accepted by anyone who doesn't own a set of rose coloured glasses.

Parliament simply won't be sitting. I assume the calculation was that once it returns, and with control of the Senate, their chances of getting their legislation through quickly will greatly increase. I don't know if that calculation is correct or not but clearly that is the major focus here.

Starting from scratch, bills at 3rd reading and such being reintroduced at 1st reading etc, and redoing all the business previously done is retarded and a waste of the taxpayers money who pay these people to do a job and finish it.

CPC MPs want to get paid twice for repeating themselves and a extra holiday to boot.

madmax · January 7, 2010

Maybe you should give spelling flames their own thread too. That seems to be about the height of your imaginatiom.

Hurts when the rock doesn't break the window but bounces back in your face. You took a cheap shot and got hurt on your own terms.

Harper doesn't care about you, not in the least. So all your wailing and whining falls on deaf ears.

Apparently he doesn't care about the Canadian Public, or those CPC identified voters who disagree with his decision to prorogue. He doesn't care about parliment.

I guess he doesn't care about alot of things.

I don't think he cares about you, not in the least.

Not certain exactly what you are trying to prove, but whatever it is it isn't working.

I support a secret ballot for good reason. I look forward to the next one if this nonsense continues.

nicky10013 · January 7, 2010

Grow up. Politicians don't care about people whose votes are settled, who will never vote for them no matter what. The Liberals feel the same about small c conservative voters and dedicated socialists. Those people aren't going to vote Liberal anyway so the party ignores them.

Of course they care about small c conservatives. Liberals don't steal votes from the NDP but from the Conservatives. If all parties just didn't care you wouldn't see them bending over every time a new poll comes out.

JB Globe · January 7, 2010

Phht. A partsan poll conducted on behalf of the Liberal Party's flagship newspaper, and you actually lend it any credence?

I love how you're pretending to not know that all newspapers outsource their polls to impartial polling companies, such as Angus Reid in this case.

And I'll remind you of this next time you quote a poll done on behalf of the National Post.

BTW - I thought the Star was the NDP's flagship paper, and the Libs have the Globe, or did it change again in your head?

I bet most of the respondants couldn't even spell prorogue and couldn't explain what it was or how many times it has happened in Canada's history.

That's pure speculation on your part. However, you don't need to be a parliamentary expert to understand that shutting down parliament in an economic crisis to dodge a political scandal is not the greatest idea for the sake of the country.

And as for invalidating the opinions of people because you think they're uninformed - I'll remind you of this the next time you reference a poll on a complicated subject that people might not fully understand.

I'm sure there are some people who are concerned. After all, Liberal party organs like the Star have have been screaming and wailing and pulling out their hair and making as if it's a national crisis for over a week now. .

Yes, those two-bit lefty-rags such as The Economist and the Calgary Herald with all of their "proroguing is bad" nonsense, right?

But Harper isn't going to lose popularity over it. Most of those gnashing their teeth would rather vote for Satan than Harper no matter what he did, so he can simply ignore their protests.

I already said that the poll said that half of conservatives are against prorouging Parliament - did you miss that or are you ignoring it because it's inconvenient to you?

After all, we can't let the facts get in the way of a good old-fashioned gut reaction.

ToadBrother · January 7, 2010

Yes, those two-bit lefty-rags such as The Economist and the Calgary Herald with all of their "proroguing is bad" nonsense, right?

Let's not forget guys like Andrew Coyne, who always seems to lean to the right. He's just about the most pissed of at all, and the inspiration of my rereading a bit of history on Charles I's similar attitudes towards Parliament.

Argus · January 7, 2010

Starting from scratch, bills at 3rd reading and such being reintroduced at 1st reading etc, and redoing all the business previously done is retarded and a waste of the taxpayers money who pay these people to do a job and finish it.

It is unlikely that bills which have already been voted on several times and already gone through committee for examination will take long. What are people going to say that they didn't say six months earlier? What are commitees going to examine they didn't already examine? Most likely the bills will pass first and second reading in five minutes and be sent on.

ToadBrother · January 7, 2010

It is unlikely that bills which have already been voted on several times and already gone through committee for examination will take long. What are people going to say that they didn't say six months earlier? What are commitees going to examine they didn't already examine? Most likely the bills will pass first and second reading in five minutes and be sent on.

Or Parliament didn't have to be prorogued at all and rather weak explanations this wouldn't even be necessary.

Alta4ever · January 7, 2010

I'm getting a kick at the level of desperation. A few months ago it was "The Tories could win a majority if they wanted", then it was "The Tories are not that far away from a majority", and now it's "The Tories are five points up on the Liberals."

I love being non-partisan. It's so good to see guys like you without rose-colored or black-colored glasses.

The last Nanos poll puts the conservatives at 39% and his are the polls to watch, I think in the next nanos poll the conservatives will be at about 37, and the undecided will increase the rest of the parties will be within one point plus or minus of the last nanos poll.

ToadBrother · January 7, 2010

The last Nanos poll puts the conservatives at 39% and his are the polls to watch, I think in the next nanos poll the conservatives will be at about 37, and the undecided will increase the rest of the parties will be within one point plus or minus of the last nanos poll.

Translation: I only agree with the polls that make me feel good.