The irony is just too great.  On the same day that four solders and a reporter were killed in Afghanistan, where we have invested too may lives to help establish a government that is responsible and accountable, our Prime Minister prorogued parliament to escape responsibility and accountability.

How have we come to this?  Section 91 of the Constitution Act of Canada begins: “It shall be lawful for the Queen, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate and House of Commons, to make Laws for the Peace, Order, and good Government of Canada”.  Peace? Maybe.  Order? In some places.  Good government?  Not by a long shot. 

Before December 2008, the last time a minority government in Canada used prorogation was almost 50 years ago.  Harper has now used it twice in 12 months.  The work of the session wasn’t done – more than half the legislation introduced this session was still to be passed.  “Tough on Crime”, it appears, is not as important as weak on accountability.

Prorogation is not supposed to be a “‘Get out of jail free” card for the government.  We have a Primer Minister who showed up in Copenhagen just in time for dinner.  We have a Prime Minister who sanctions using Israel as a wedge issue in ridings with large Jewish populations.  We have a Prime Minister who crafts crime legislation based on “It’s what the public wants” instead of what has been empirically shown to work.  We have a Primer Minister who panders to the basest instincts of his followers.  And it appears he is willing to pull the plug on Parliament whenever the going gets tough.  I can only imagine what he would do if he had a majority and no longer had to pretend he believed in the environment, arts, social equity, and human rights.

At least in phoney democracies the people know the government is phoney.  Harper makes me ashamed to be Canadian.