Stephen Harper has prorogued parliament to avoid accountability.

This page is set to keep Paul connected with his constituents during the time that parliament's doors are locked.

Action:

Print out this petition to protest Harper's abuse of prorogation for his partisan purposes, get it signed by your friends and family and mail it back to Paul.

Join this Facebook group along with others in the country who oppose Harper's undemocratic actions.

Events:

Canadians against Proroguing Parliament - Rally
Saturday, January 23, 2010, 1 pm
Parliament Hill

Paul's op ed on prorogation: Stephen Harper's Undemocratic Act

Some of the messages Paul has received from Canadians in opposition to Harper’s prorogation:

There is no credible justification for this action. I can only conclude that the government has done this in order to avoid legitimate and necessary scrutiny of your government's responsibility for the treatment of Afghan detainees.

Dennis Howlett
Ottawa ON

I am very concerned that Prime Minister Harper has again been allowed to shut down the Canadian Parliament because it has become an inconvenience. He did not even have the courage to make the announcement himself, leaving it to his spokesperson to make it at a time when people were preoccupied with their holiday preparations. This decision means that committees are disbanded and legislation is killed. What about his promises of openness and transparency.  He is behaving like a 3rd world dictator.   We are sending our troops to fight and die to bring democracy to Afghanistan and yet the Prime Minister is undermining democracy here in Canada.  

PMW
Ottawa

Photo ops of Olympic proportions await Stephen Harper while he pretends his government needs time off to “recalibrate” its Economic Action Plan. 

L.P.
Ottawa, ON

I am writing to express my displeasure at how Stephen Harper and the Conservatives are running our country. Although I am concerned with many specific issues (treatment of Afghan detainees, climate change, the economy, pensions... to name but a few), it is the general way in which he governs that is of most concern to me.

Ken Chase

With the Olympics just around the corner Canada is on the front page of newspapers all over the world, I would expect Mr. Harper would be especially sensitive to the impression left of our country, those who run it and those who vote for them. As a Canadian citizen, I am totally shocked and embarrassed that Prime Minister Stephen Harper would prorogue Parliament with such a ridiculous excuse.

Darlene Baryluk
Thunder Bay, Ontario

I have never been inclined to write a letter to my MP regarding anything before, however the actions of the present government in its suspension of democracy until March are truly troubling. More so as it was done in what I consider to be a shady and underhanded manner, during a time of year when the minds and eyes of Canadians were focused elsewhere. 

Andrew Leonard

If I told my employer that I wasn't showing up to work and was encouraging my coworkers to do the same and expecting to be paid for the time off, you can bet I'll be fired that same day!

Fiona Hammond-Vincent

That a Prime Minister would call for prorogation in the quiet hours of the pre-New Year break when businesses, schools, and Parliament are temporarily boarded up, is an affront to democracy and an attack on civil politics.

Matthew Cohen
Toronto, ON

I feel our government of the day has failed our people in choosing to prorogue parliament until March. Canadian families are trying to recover from a recession, our troops are risking their lives over seas, and the only thing our government seems concerned with is their political future. Proroguing parliament should not be used as a political tactic. This is a blatant showing of disrespect to Canadians.

Meghann Darroch
Ottawa, ON

Steven Harper has never exhibited respect for the Parliament of Canada. His one-man control of the other Members of Parliament is a form of legalized dictatorship.

Roger Elmes
White Rock, BC

With his most recent action of prorogation parliament, Mr. Harper is demonstrating to Canadians that he is, at best, a coward and, at worst, a quitter.  As he is so brazenly wont to hide behind the shields of our brave Canadian military of late, how would Canadians feel if our troops decided things were getting too difficult and decided to prorogue the fighting until conditions were more to their liking?  Would that type of behavior demonstrate the valour he is so quick to use as his shield in the House of Commons?

JT
Port Stanley, ON

I find it sad that four Canadian soldiers die in a foreign country fighting for democracy when Mr Harper and his friends make a mockery of democracy at home. 

Albert Klein

The privilege of proroguing is not intended to shut down discussion and parliamentary business that the minority government is uncomfortable with. 

Brett Stevens
Ottawa, ON 

I am afraid for my country.  This is not the Canada I know and love, where fair play, honest discourse and dedication to the public good used to take priority over narrow partisan goals.

 Kringen Henein
Ottawa, ON 

I remain very concerned about the government's role regarding Afghan detainees. So do most of the people I talk to.

 SS
Toronto, ON

Mr. Harper tried avoid scrutiny by doing this at Christmas time. He is beginning to look like a dictator. 

Phyllis Wild
Whitby, ON

Mr. Harper, you and your fellow MPs were elected to carry out the nation's business, and to enact a 3 month prorogation which kills all pending legislation amounts to a colossal waste and a dereliction of duty.

James Heck
Regina, SK

I have generally been a conservative and overall I like their policies. This time Stephen Harper has gone too far with the prorogation of Parliament. Our democratic way of life is at stake

Graeme Barber
Ottawa, ON

I got back to Canada after a few days in New York to find Harper had prorogued Parliament, and was, well, a mixture of furious and nauseated, as I had really rather expected to be returning home to a democracy. 

Dr Courtney Howard, MD
Ottawa, ON

At this time of severe economic and military challenges to Canadian citizens we strongly decry the recent action to prorogue parliament.  This is a time for all of our elected representatives to work together more intensively to serve Canada’s needs.  We would respectfully submit that parliament return early to work than now this much later return.  The US Congress worked on Christmas Eve!

J B and N M
Ottawa, ON

There should be a clear manifestation of opinion that the second such act in two years smacks of crypto-fascism.

Paul Dickins
Ottawa, ON

I am thoroughly disgusted with Harper - he seems to feel he can usurp our democratic institutions when faced with a situation which will embarrass him.

Donna Smiley
Ottawa, ON

This action undermines our democracy, stifles debate on important issues and closes down the parliamentary committee on the Afghan detainee issue. I fully support your actions to keep this detainee issue alive and before the Canadian public.  The issue is not only about Canada's possible violation of the rights of prisoners in its care but also Canada's damaged reputation in the international community. 

Barry V Fisher
Calgary AB

I am very concerned at the way the Tories are undermining many of our fundamental institutions, including Parliament and the civil service. It has been said many times and far more eloquently, but the arrogance with which they manipulate our institutions for partisan ends is deeply disturbing.

SB
Ottawa ON 

Mr. Harper, you are making a mockery of Canadians and our democratic system.

Irene Casey

We are shocked that Harper prorogued Parliament for two months to avoid negative media attention during the Olympics. As a federal public servant, I know what this means for my area; no Treasury Board Submissions, no Annual Reports passed in Parliament, less direction for Budget 2010 work. But I realize that at the higher level, this means no parliamentary committees, and more importantly, no question period.

M M-W
Ottawa, ON

Mr. Harper, it is clear that you have let your pursuit of power go to your head and it is trumping your responsibilities to act in the best interests of the Canadian people.

Jim Pine
Victoria, B.C.

The message of the Prime Minister is clear:  Parliament is of no importance, and no interest, to an agenda dictated from the PMO.  And the dictator is not interested in any voice but his own. 

Barry Davis
Ottawa, ON

Over the holiday season I have had plenty of opportunities to meet with family and friends and when discussion of parliament and Prime Minister Harper came up there was a definite sense of disappointment and anger over the decision Harper has made to put parliament on hold again for another 2 months. I want to be clear that I am not in favour of proroguing parliament and frankly am not even clear on the reason this decision has been made.

Laura Murton
Ottawa, ON

Mr. Harper’s decision to prorogue Parliament can only have one reason:  to save his government from having to answer the many legitimate and serious questions Canadians have been asking through their elected representatives on issues such as Afghanistan (including lack of transparency on the torture file), the environment and the economy.

Dr. Anne Bernard
Ottawa, ON

To the Hon. Prime Minister Stephen Harper,

As a citizen, I feel robbed and disheartened, betrayed yet again by a government that has lost my confidence once and for all. Does the Prime Minister wish to attend to our citizens’ needs, or does he wish only to secure for himself a power quite undeserved by his duplicitous methods of governance? I think, Mr. Harper, your intentions are quite clear now to all.

Are there no Conservatives in parliament left to stand up for what is right? How dare the Prime Minister prorogue parliament? No soldier in the field has the option of running from his troubles.

Hugh Barnett
Toronto, ON

Show up for work and defy the abuse of power and contempt that Harper is showing this parliament and this country.

Kathaleen Neufeld
Granville Ferry, Nova Scotia

I am writing to you to protest the proroguing of Parliament. This, on a day when 4 Canadian soldiers and a journalist died defending our freedoms. The suspension is a sign of the the government's true colours: yellow for cowards.  

M. H.
Nepean, ON

To prorogue at this time is inappropriate. As a Canadian I am offended by it. I will not be voting for the conservatives the next time around.

Glen Marshall

It is important that you keep speaking up. It is important that you hold your stand. We have seen this country turn into the butt of jokes by Conservatives. We saw how our country was treated in Copenhagen. We have seen how Harper treats New Canadians when they run into trouble abroad. We have seen how this man has made major economic decisions and statements in hotels rather than the people’s House where our voice is represented. We have seen this man politicize the military. He needs to be stopped from spending our tax dollars for partisan reasons. This needs to stop. Canada is a parliamentary democracy, not a dictatorship.

Peter Madaka
Parkdale-High Park, Toronto, ON

As a Canadian citizen who expects my country to respect the Convention against Torture, of which we are a signatory, I strongly object to the prorogation of Canadian Parliament.

Linda MacDonald
Truro, Nova Scotia

The prorogation shows a complete lack of respect for both the institution of parliament as well as for the electorate who put the government into power.  Our system is in dire need of reform to prevent such abuses of power. This type of behaviour only serves to further disillusion the electorate, who are truly sick of this kind of unprofessional behaviour by our elected officials.

B. B.
London, ON

Mr. Harper, I’m here to tell you that your decision to run away from parliamentary accountability is deplorable and anti-democratic! Prorogation tells me better than any of your spin doctors that there’s something rotten in Denmark. What are you afraid of— parliamentary committees?  Two months off to recalibrate….bah humbug!

E. K.
Black Diamond, AB

Mr. Dewar, I want to commend you for speaking out promptly on the practices of this Harper team of rogues. As confirmation and support of your diligence and dedication to trying to bring civility to our Parliament, I send this e-mail. Although I am not in your Riding I feel like you speak for so many of us who now have no voice in a government which cares not at all about private citizens.

Clarke Topp
Ottawa, ON

So much time and effort, paid by taxpayer's dollars, is being wasted by proroguing parliament. It cost a lot of money to get the food safety bill plus numerous other bills through the committees and senate for approval. Proroguing parliament means that these bills die and a much needed bill like the food safety bill will have to start all over again in the spring.

D. C.
Ottawa, ON

I strongly object to recent prorogation of the Parliament by Stephen Harper. Stephen Harper is as democratic as Iran's Ahmadinejad.

A. R.
Ottawa, ON

The prorogation of Parliament is a contemptuous and contemptible act that is clearly motivated by the hope of partisan gain. In addition, it appears that all the time and expense of the previous legislative session has been almost completely wasted. The Conservatives are obliged to answer for this.

Myrna Bruce Hynes
St. Lambert, Québec

This is contemptible. Parliament should be in session, no question.  Make Harper accountable. I believe in Canada and this is inescapably wrong.

Adam Dietrich
Ottawa, ON