Email response to Jack Layton January 7, 2010

Reply from Jack Layton:

Thank you for your comments regarding Stephen Harper's unilateral
decision to prorogue Parliament. By locking out Members of Parliament,
Mr. Harper is shutting down democracy and preventing us from doing the
important work Canadians elected us to do.

I believe that Canadians value our democratic system. They are telling
the Prime Minister that he can't simply shut down our democratic
institutions just because he doesn't like what they're asking or doing.

Here are some facts:

- This is the second time in 12 months that he has prorogued Parliament
- This is the fourth time in 3 years he has abruptly ended a session of
Parliament
- He consistently fails to comply with the Access to Information Act
- He is ignoring an order by Parliament to provide access to all
documents relating to the Afghan torture issue.

Canadians also expect their MPs to work together and find solutions for
the challenges facing our country. There is a pension's crisis in
Canada. Many individuals are struggling to find work and need help to
recover from the economic recession. Yet, Stephen Harper chose to lock
the doors of Parliament rather than letting MPs work on these concerns.

Prime Minister Harper has adopted a blatant "run from accountability"
approach to governing. While he promised increased accountability, he
has done everything in his power to avoid the tough questions. At the
same time he is blocking elected MPs from Parliament, he is making plans
to stack the Senate with unelected Conservative Senators-something he
promised he would never do.

For more information on our position on this matter, please visit:
http://www.ndp.ca/press/statement-on-prorogation-by-libby-davies.

For our part, the New Democratic Caucus will be going ahead with our
scheduled January 18 strategy meeting and will discuss our plans for the
next few months. We will continue to advance our policies on issues such
as pension reform, jobs, the environment and health care while working
hard in our individual ridings.

Again, I appreciate having the benefit of your comments. Feel free to
pass along my message to anyone who may be interested. All the best.

Sincerely,

Jack Layton, MP (Toronto-Danforth)
Leader, Canada's New Democrats

My response

Dear Mr Layton,

What a disappointing response. I already know what Harper has done and I have a good sense of what we are in for if he is not stopped.  What you call a “unilateral decision to prorogue Parliament”, I call an assault on democracy. Going ahead with an already planned caucus meeting is hardly an adequate response to Harper’s calculated assault. People will rally on the 23rd, and out of that, hopefully, will come a commitment to continue to work for the overhaul of the electoral system in this country – a country now without a functioning democracy.

The past NDP strategy of attacking liberals in an attempt to claim their political turf is an abject failure and has only emboldened Mr Harper (see Tom Flanagan’s article in the Tuesday G&M). Your party must change direction and come out swinging at the Harper regime, and many are ready to help. I would think that the NDP would want to be a voice for democratic renewal instead of standing by with hat in hand waiting for Mr Harper to come back on stage. Thousands of Canadians are mobilizing and thousands more would too with effective leadership from you and the talented MPs in your caucus. Please, forget the retreat and get out to the planning meetings for the 23rd – speak out on the travesty Mr Harper is laying out for us. I cannot stand by and watch Harper make fools of us as citizens, and neither should you.

Sincerely

Paul Chislett

Windsor, Ontario.

Letter for Action Re: Prorogation of parliament

I emailed this letter to as many newspapers across Canada as I could find:

January 1, 2010

RE: Proroguing parliament

The Editor,

Much has already been commented on in the major papers about Prime Minister Harper’s move to prorogue parliament until March. This move should outrage all who value the democratic process regardless of how battered that process may be.

The time has come where the parliamentary process is completely stalemated with the prime minister deciding he does not have to answer to the opposition. If he has so little respect for his peers in parliament, imagine how much less he has for the citizenry. He seems to regard us as mere numbers to plug into his political calculations. He seems confident that we will be so easily distracted by the Olympics, that he can boost his ratings by pasting himself and his party on the Olympic brand, thereby positioning himself in majority territory once again. A spring election is likely the next course of action.

I submit to your readers a plan of action that I believe is more necessary now than at any other time in our history. If parliamentarians cannot get to work on January 25^th then neither should the rest of the country.  All citizens who care about democracy should take the day off and make phone calls to the Prime Minister’s office demanding that parliament be resumed at once. The opposition parties, social justice groups and union leaders should be front and center in helping to organize this effort. It may seem a done deal since the Governor-General has already agreed to prorogue parliament (over the phone no less); however, the will of the people through parliament should override a non-elected figurehead.  As well, this effort is not intended to simply support the status quo, rather this could and should be the beginning of a new political paradigm leading to electoral reform and ending the growing power and influence of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

All Canadians should carefully consider how easily this country can slip into authoritarianism; we seem to be well along the way.

Sincerely

Paul Chislett