Justin Trudeau’s request to prorogue parliament has been granted

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During his Monday announcement that he will be stepping down as prime minister and Liberal leader as soon as his party finds a successor, Justin Trudeau said Governor General Mary Simon granted his request to prorogue Parliament.

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This will put the House of Commons on hold until until March 24.

What does it mean to prorogue parliament?

A prorogation differs from a recess, such as the usual summer recess, which does not mean the end of a formal session of Parliament. It also differs from a dissolution of Parliament, which sparks an election.

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It’s not uncommon for Parliament to be prorogued when a federal government has completed the agenda set out in a throne speech. However, prorogation does not kill any outstanding legislation before Parliament, as it once did. Most bills can simply be revived in the new session at the same stage they were when the previous session ended.

Most parliaments are prorogued at least once.

Prorogation requires the consent of the Governor General (or Lieutenant Governor in the cases of the provinces). A request from the government leader is almost always granted immediately.

Is prorogation a political tactic?

There has been considerable discussion of the use of prorogation as a political tactic. Last week, Duff Conacher, head of citizen’s group Democracy Watch, told the National Post that he would instigate a court challenge in the Federal Court if Trudeau had Parliament prorogued. “Democracy Watch will consider filing a court challenge if the Prime Minister asks the Governor General to prorogue Parliament at a time where it is clear that the prorogation is a self-interested move to protect the interests of the Liberal Party by preventing a majority of MPs from voting non-confidence in the government.”

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Until the Second World War, it was common for the federal Parliament to begin its work shortly after Christmas and continue until early summer. However, the exigencies presented by the war required parliamentarians to sit for longer sessions.

Then as the federal government developed an increasing large role in the lives of Canadians, and advances in telecommunications and air travel made being present in parliamentary ridings less necessary, the trend toward longer sessions continued.

A sharp difference in the average amount of time Parliament was prorogued in the 1800s continuing to the early 1900s as compared to more recent times. Since 1980 the prorogation of Parliament is generally not longer than 22 days.

What happened after previous prorogations?

Canadians don’t have to go too far back to find echoes of Conacher’s concern.

In 2002, former prime minister Jean Chretien was granted his request to prorogue Parliament, allowing him to avoid putting a report about the sponsorship scandal before the public accounts committee. Ultimately, however, questions continued. He stepped down as prime minister in December of the following year, and the Liberal party was reduced to a minority in the election that followed.

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In 2008, former prime minister Stephen Harper was granted a prorogation when he was confronted with a coalition of opposition parties and threatened with a non-confidence vote. However, in that instance, the Governor General did not grant the request right away and Michelle Jean said afterward that she delayed for a few hours to send a message.

Harper did it again the following year. He said it was due to the 21st Olympic Winter games in Vancouver, though the opposition voiced accusations that he was avoiding an ongoing investigation into what was know as the Afghan Detainees Affair.

This isn’t the first time Justin Trudeau has asked for a controversial prorogation. On the summer of 2020, he asked and the Governor General to prorogue Parliament until late while facing down the WE Charity Scandal. His request was granted.

There have been loud calls and long discussion about reforming prorogation. There have even been protests in the streets.

But (clearly) nothing has changed.

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