2010 Canada anti-prorogation protests
The prorogation had occurred a month earlier on 30 December 2009 on the constitutional advice of Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper and was officially carried out by Governor General Michaëlle Jean.
[9] The first session of the 40th Canadian Parliament opened on 18 November 2008, after the Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, won a strengthened minority in that year's election, increasing their seat count by 16.
On 30 December 2009, Prime Minister Harper announced that he had counselled the Governor General to prorogue parliament throughout the 12–28 February 2010 Winter Olympics, until 3 March 2010, and Jean signed the proclamation later that day, granting his request, as provided for by constitutional convention.
[10] In an interview with CBC News, Prince Edward Island Liberal Member of Parliament Wayne Easter accused the Prime Minister of "shutting democracy down".
[13][14] During this time, PMO spokesman Dimitri Soudas pointed out to the media that the Prime Minister was at work in Ottawa while the Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff was off at his vacation home in the south of France.
[17] On 5 January, in an interview on CBC TV The National, Mr Harper said that prorogation was a "routine" move to allow the government to adjust its budget due on 4 March.
"[16] Opposition leaders stated that Harper's real reason for the prorogation was to end an embarrassing debate on the government's alleged complicity in the torture of Afghan detainees, and in particular to avoid complying with a parliamentary motion to hand over all documents relevant to those charges.
Ned Franks, a historian and veteran political scientist said that no previous prime minister has prorogued the legislature "in order to avoid the kind of things that Harper apparently wants to avoid,"[16] The initial organization of the 23 January rallies started with a group on the social networking website Facebook, called "Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament" in early January 2010, led by Christopher White, an anthropology student at the University of Alberta.
[26] A poll, done by Angus Reid prior to 9 January, found that 38 per cent of Canadians believed that Harper used the prorogation to curtail the Afghan detainee inquiry.
[38] On 4 Feb 2010, top constitutional scholar Errol Mendes and military legal expert Michel Drapeau,[39] urged MPs not to abandon their probe into the Canadian Afghan detainee issue.
[40] Mendes referred to the Harper government's refusal to hand over uncensored documents, despite a motion passed in the House of Commons to do so: He stated, "The executive is really placing itself above Parliament.
[38] He said the Conservative government has violated the Constitution of Canada and will be in contempt of Parliament if it continues to refuse to release uncensored documents regarding the Afghan detainee issue.
[38] New Democratic Party foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar sent a letter 3 February 2010 to Rob Nicholson, the justice minister, demanding the documents be released.
[39] On 4 February 2010, the Toronto Star reported that Bob Rae will not rule out a formal censure of the government for blocking a parliamentary investigation of detainee abuse in Afghanistan when MPs return to work in March 2010.
"[41] On 28 January, in response to the protests, Michael L. MacDonald, a Conservative member who was appointed to the Senate of Canada by Stephen Harper, stated that prorogation is a "common occurrence".
[42] On 28 January, results from an EKOS poll showed that the Liberals were ahead of the Conservatives, despite Harper's focus on relief efforts following the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
"[44] Since the prorogation is scheduled to last until after the 12–28 February Olympics, this caused some outrage as some members of CAPP and other Canadians accused Harper of proroguing in order to attend the games.
[46] Organizers have planned further protests, along with a "Torch Relay for Democracy" to coincide with the start of the Olympic Games, concluding in Ottawa by the end of the prorogation.
