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September 15th, 2012

Conservatives mark Democracy Day

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.