by Michael Ignatieff l Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada
Member of Parliament for Etobicoke-Lakeshore
Last week the Harper government announced the shutting down of Parliament. The fact that this was done in the media "black hole," just hours before New Year's Eve, says a good deal about Mr. Harper's motivations. It's also a richly ironic statement about a government that was elected on the key plank of increasing transparency and accountability - but that's another, equally sad, story.
Every newspaper in Canada [...] reported that the key factor in Mr. Harper's decision was the barrage of criticism and tough questions his government has faced in Parliament over its handling - and apparent cover up - of the Afghan detainee torture issue. Questions about the government's truthfulness and its care of Canada's reputation overseas. Questions that go to the very heart of the government's respect for democratic institutions and the rule of law.
Even more troubling, this shutting down of Parliament is not a rash or impetuous act. It is part of a consistent pattern of behaviour on the part of Mr. Harper's government. Whenever Stephen Harper gets into political trouble, his first impulse is to steamroll over democratic institutions that get in his way. Look at the record:
* Just over a year ago, he prorogued Parliament just weeks after an election - in order to rescue himself from an unprecedented political and constitutional crisis of his own making.
* He has lashed out at public servants - like Richard Colvin, in the case of the detainees - for daring to speak the truth, and cowed others into silence,
* He fired Linda Keen, the head of the Nuclear Safety Commission, for blowing the whistle on the repairs needed at Chalk River to ensure the reactor's safety.
* He starved Kevin Page, the Parliamentary Budget Officer, of the necessary resources to do his job because he was critical of the poor management of our public finances under this Conservative government.
* He let go the heads of both the RCMP's Public Complaints Commission and the Military Police Complaints Commission. Both were competent individuals, doing their job with distinction. But both had a serious flaw in Stephen Harper's eye: they were critical of the government.
* He cut off public funding for the ecumenical charitable group KAIROS, despite their lauded work and broad public support, because, according to one of his ministers, they held a dissenting views from the government on foreign policy,
Every newspaper in Canada [...] reported that the key factor in Mr. Harper's decision was the barrage of criticism and tough questions his government has faced in Parliament over its handling - and apparent cover up - of the Afghan detainee torture issue. Questions about the government's truthfulness and its care of Canada's reputation overseas. Questions that go to the very heart of the government's respect for democratic institutions and the rule of law.
Even more troubling, this shutting down of Parliament is not a rash or impetuous act. It is part of a consistent pattern of behaviour on the part of Mr. Harper's government. Whenever Stephen Harper gets into political trouble, his first impulse is to steamroll over democratic institutions that get in his way. Look at the record:
* Just over a year ago, he prorogued Parliament just weeks after an election - in order to rescue himself from an unprecedented political and constitutional crisis of his own making.
* He has lashed out at public servants - like Richard Colvin, in the case of the detainees - for daring to speak the truth, and cowed others into silence,
* He fired Linda Keen, the head of the Nuclear Safety Commission, for blowing the whistle on the repairs needed at Chalk River to ensure the reactor's safety.
* He starved Kevin Page, the Parliamentary Budget Officer, of the necessary resources to do his job because he was critical of the poor management of our public finances under this Conservative government.
* He let go the heads of both the RCMP's Public Complaints Commission and the Military Police Complaints Commission. Both were competent individuals, doing their job with distinction. But both had a serious flaw in Stephen Harper's eye: they were critical of the government.
* He cut off public funding for the ecumenical charitable group KAIROS, despite their lauded work and broad public support, because, according to one of his ministers, they held a dissenting views from the government on foreign policy,
