Post-prorogation blues

Well, here we are one week later and a lot has happened since my last post on the prorogation of Parliament by the Conservative government on December 30. Since then, it has been blasted on just about every editorial page in the country, it has been severely criticized in The Economist, an influential magazine with a wide international readership, a Facebook group (Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament) has grown to over 160,000 members, it has been condemned in an open letter to the Prime Minister signed by over 170 Canadian professors of constitutional law and political philosophy, and even Tom Flanagan, erstwhile mentor to Stephen Harper and eminence grise of the conservative movement in Canada, has come out against his former protégé and admitted that the prorogation was an abuse of parliamentary process to stifle a parliamenry committee's investigation of the treatment of detainees in Afghanistan. So, you would think I would be happy with all these developments but, actually, I am a little apprehensive.

You can never be happy when the democratic institutions of your country are under attack. Of course, it is wonderful that so many people perceive the threat and are trying to organize. In particular, the CAPP group on Facebook, which I joined, has brought out thousands of thoughtful and concerned citizens who are motivated by civic duty and inspired by national pride (along with other denizens of the Internet with wide and wacky interests, including many on-line "agents provocateurs", colorfully called "trolls"). CAPP members are planning rallies and demonstrations across the country on January 23 to register their discontent and to communicate their concern to an even wider cross-section of citizens beyond the Internet. It has become clear though this process of communication and exchange that their concern is not only over this single act of prorogation but it is over the systematic pattern of disregard and abuse of democratic process exhibited by the current government. So, what is the remedy? Beyond the demonstrations, then what? This is where my apprehension kicks in. If this issue disappears as quickly from public view as, say, the Copenhagen agreement has (the Copenhagen what?), then we will be saddled with more bad government for a long time. (Is it because the Conservatives believe that government is bad that they can't help but provide bad government?)

The path from here goes through the reconvening of Parliament on March 3. Soon thereafter, there should be many opportunities for the Opposition to bring the government down on a confidence vote. Will they take the opportunity? Can the energy and concern of the last week be sustained through to then? If, somehow, the emails, letters and public marches of thousands of concerned citizens can be sustained, then it might give the opposition members the courage to act. The next act would then play out between the Prime Minister and the Governor General. Will she acquiesce to Mr. Harper's request for the dissolution of the 40th Parliament, which would set off elections? If, somehow, the emails, letters and public marches of thousands of concerned citizens are directed at Rideau Hall, it might give her the courage to refuse and invite the Leader of the opposition to try his hand at forming a government and maintain the confidence of the House. This would be entirely within the traditions and conventions of our parliamentary democracy and, at this point, safer than holding yet another election, which given the splintering of the electorate, would likely lead to another minority.

So, a lot to worry about...