With two consecutive polls and a growing social media presence showing Canadians are angry about Stephen Harper’s decision to prorogue Parliament, this would be the ideal time for the Liberals to gain some ground in public opinion. Yet the party is going about it the wrong way.
We can thank our local member of Parliament Brent Rathgeber for some national exposure courtesy of his reassurances that the Conservatives were only “suspending democracy” by, for the second time in one year, proroguing Parliament. Instead of a one-month break, our MPs will now return to work March 3, save for those Liberals who follow Michael Ignatieff’s order to report to the office at the end of January. It’s a move that’s not going well for the Conservatives — EKOS reported last week that 53 per cent of Canadians strongly or somewhat disagreed with the decision to prorogue Parliament.
The Liberals and other Conservative critics believe Harper sent everyone home for one main reason — heading off a probe into the Canada’s treatment of detainees in Afghanistan. With calls resonating for a public inquiry, Harper told everyone instead to get lost and the commission investigating the allegations is now unable to finish its work. An Angus Reid poll released late last week showed 38 per cent of Canadians believe the detainee issue was the sole reason Harper prorogued Parliament, compared to 23 per cent who believed the Conservatives’ explanation of re-focusing its priorities.
While the detainee allegations are serious, they are not the kind that will generate significant public outrage nationally. Unlike the Somalia inquiry of the 1990s, there are no photos of tortured or dead victims, nothing to really shock the public and carry popular opinion. Yet the Liberals have taken hold of the issue, using it in their efforts to whip Canadians into a lather over prorogation. It might be one reason to be skeptical of Harper’s motives, but it’s not the sole driver and not one Canadians will connect with.
That Harper has sent Parliamentarians home for the second time in two years is no secret — everyone remembers the circumstances the last time he did it, which was more in the interests of self-preservation. But of further note is a hypocritical similarity between this recess call and the last. In both instances, Harper is going against his own previous statements and appointing more senators to the Red Chamber. Last year he filled several Senate vacancies while the country recovered from the potential Liberal-NDP coalition. This year he is poised to do the same, even though he has stated his preferred course is to fill vacancies using elected senators-in-waiting.
While the newest appointments will bring parity in the long Liberal-dominated Senate, it doesn’t change the fact that all of the work Harper complained he couldn’t get done because of the Senate now evaporates and has to start all over again. It doesn’t change the fact we are a country at war with no sitting government. It doesn’t change the fact we are barely emerging from recession and Canadians are more concerned about jobs than the Vancouver Olympics.
The Liberals have ample ammunition to fuel discontent with Harper’s decision, but they have to pick the right weapon for the job. Ultimately, the fact Canadians want their government at work instead of in Vancouver is the most damaging of all. So long as Ignatieff chooses to focus on issues with little political traction, what could be a prime opportunity will instead cement Harper’s way of doing — or not doing — the nation’s business.
