Speech: The New Democrat plan to limit prorogation

Good afternoon.

Today our hearts are still heavy with the loss of life in Haiti and with the continued suffering of its people.

We grieve with the families of those Canadians who were victims of the quake.

And we share the hopes of those wishing for the safe return of loved ones still missing.

As the tragic consequences of the earthquake in Haiti continue to unfold, the best of Canada’s compassionate spirit has been on display.

Canadians have given generously, even when they have little of their own.

Relief workers, doctors, firefighters, soldiers, police and others are working tirelessly on the ground to save lives.

Canadian government aid is already streaming in.

Haitian immigration applications are being expedited and faster processing has been promised for quake victims with family in Canada.

We urge the government to expand those efforts by widening which family members can apply and speeding up the unification of adopted orphans with their new families in Canada.

Our collective response, as Canadians and fellow citizens of the world, has been full of heart and deep of spirit.

Our thoughts and prayers, our best hopes, are with the people of Haiti, the families of the missing and the dead, and the women and men from around the world helping in their time of need.

Friends –

Five days from now, many of the people’s representatives will return to the people’s House.

We will find that the Prime Minister has locked the doors, shut out the MPs and is nowhere to be seen.

With so many challenges facing Canada –

Job creation, climate change, the war in Afghanistan –

Parliament must be able to do its work.

The Prime Minister must be held to account.

Today I am announcing the New Democrat proposal to ensure that Parliament does work and that the Prime Minister is held to account.

Stephen Harper was elected on the promise of a new day in Ottawa – more open, more transparent, more accountable.

The sun was setting on the old ways of the Liberals, the scandal and corruption, the secrecy and arrogance.

But that new day never dawned.

Instead we have more secrets, more arrogance and more disdain for the elected House of the people of Canada.

We have more of the old politics; the old way of doing things in Ottawa.

Mr. Harper is more of the same.

Worse, in fact.

Mr. Harper's unilateral decision to suspend Parliament is wrong.

It’s wrong because suspending Parliament will hurt those Canadians who were counting on Parliament to be there for them; to pass laws that would protect their pensions, clean up their environment or extend their employment insurance.

None of that help can happen now. 

That’s the old politics of Stephen Harper and his Conservative Party.

Cutting and running instead of facing the House over the war in Afghanistan and the treatment of detainees.

Refusing to answer questions over his failures on climate change and this stagnant, jobless economy.

Trying to block the important work our MPs are doing.

Paul Dewar and Jack Harris on the Afghan detainee file and government cover-up.

Or Carole Hughes on expanding employment insurance.

Or Wayne Marston on the Nortel Act to protect underfunded pension plans.

Or Judy Wasylycia-Leis on drug patents.

Or Libby Davies and Megan Leslie on social housing.

Or any of the dozens of bills, committee hearings and other work on which members of this caucus are working.

This is the old politics of Stephen Harper and the Conservatives: where partisan games matter more than the work of elected representatives.

In the old politics, the Prime Minister claims he needs to reset his agenda – even though 36 government bills died when he prorogued Parliament.

In the old politics, the Prime Minister claims debate in the House is bad for financial markets – even though the Prime Minister being answerable to Parliament is the foundation of our democracy.

In the old politics, the only thing matters is how much power the Prime Minister can grasp!

It doesn’t have to be this way.

There’s a new politics; a grassroots politics driven by Canadians.

The new politics is the politics of saying enough is enough.

It’s the politics happening in neighbourhood after neighbourhood.

Ordinary Canadians coming together to organise town halls and rallies.

Joining social networking groups, making their voices heard in new media.

On a recent flight, the attendant served me coffee, bent down and whispered in my ear:

“I’ve never really cared about politics, but how do we stop the Prime Minister with this prorogation?”

A student at the University of Saskatchewan asked me:

“Is Mr. Harper going to do this every time he doesn’t want to face Parliament?”

A woman in a cafe wanted to know:

“Have we got a Prime Minister who just runs away when he gets in trouble?"

Our MPs have been overwhelmed by the countless Canadians emailing, calling and writing to protest prorogation.

That’s the new politics.

The new politics says there’s a better way forward; an end to secrecy and arrogance; the beginning of openness and accountability.

The new politics is New Democrat politics.

New politics needs new rules to make Parliament stronger.

Over the last three days, our caucus has discussed proposals to make Parliament work.

And so today I am announcing that the New Democrats will bring proposals and legislation to limit the power of prorogation so that the Prime Minister cannot abuse it.

The government should only prorogue Parliament on a vote in the House of Commons.

This will inform the Governor-General of the will of the majority, so that prorogation happens when it is needed –

Not simply when the Prime Minister feels like it.

That is a strong foundation for a better Parliament.

We call on Stephen Harper to advance the recall of Parliament.

The House has urgent business to address.

Canada’s next budget will be critical.

It will set the path we take into the next decade – and do so in the face of immense challenges.

We have a deep deficit, made structural and lasting by poor economic management.

Mr Harper and Mr Flaherty have already signalled that this will be an austerity budget.

We know what that means. We’ve seen this movie before.

Are we going to go back to the same old politics that got us into recession?

The same old dogma. Canadians expect us to learn from our mistakes, not repeat them.

You know the mistakes I’m talking about.

Deep cuts to the services Canadians rely on, like health care, education and training, public sector lay-offs, cuts to provinces and no investment in the infrastructure critical to our future.

Mr Harper keeps talking about the end of the recession.

But this recession isn’t over until the half a million Canadians who have been thrown out of work are back on the job.

Without a strong, effective Parliament – in session and working –

Without the Prime Minister facing questions from the people’s representatives –

Decisions about our nation’s future – about the kind of health care, pension protection, tax policies, climate change measures we have – will be made by the Harper Conservatives without the careful scrutiny of Parliament.

That cannot stand.

On January 23, New Democrats will join Canadians at rallies across the country to demand an end to prorogation.

In five days, on January 25, we will be here on the Hill, ready to do the jobs Canadians elected us to do.

We will have MPs on the job, here in Ottawa, but we’ll be fanning out across the country too.

Teams of our MPs will visit ridings and talk to Canadians about EI and pensions, climate change and credit card protection, all the critical issues facing our country.

We’re hearing from Canadians – in our ridings, through Facebook, at rallies and town halls.

They’re speaking with one voice.

Mr Harper isn’t hearing them, though their message is clear:

The time for his style of old politics is past.

The new politics is taking hold.

It’s time to end the old way of doing things and embrace the new.

Thank you.  Merci beaucoup.