News

On International Democracy Day, the NDP wants to remind Canadians about the Stephen Harper Conservative government’s abysmal record on democracy.

• Stephen Harper has shut down Parliament on two occasions by proroguing it, just to avoid facing a vote of non-confidence in the House of Commons.

• The Conservative government refused to hold a real debate on their omnibus budget implementation bill, C-38, which made changes to over 70 different laws.

• The Conservatives dismantled Rights and Democracy, an organization which promotes democracy, but took positions the government disagreed with.

• The Conservatives routinely refused to provide documents to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, preventing parliamentarians and citizens from being informed.

• The Conservatives pled guilty to breaking election laws -- and paid the maximum fine allowed for under the Act -- for exceeding legal spending limits as part of their “In and Out” scheme.

• The Conservative government rode roughshod over democracy by dismantling the Canadian Wheat Board, even after the CWB received a majority vote of support from Canadian farmers.