Canwest: Only in Canada, eh? Harper in uncharted territory with prorogation

[tuvor]

Take a look around the world. Go searching for the last time a Westminster-style parliament was shut down to free its leaders from unwanted censure or scrutiny - and you'll end right back in Canada, where you started.

It turns out, no other nation with a system of government like ours - not Britain, Australia or New Zealand - has ever had its parliament prorogued in modern times, so that its ruling party could avoid an investigation, or a vote of confidence, by other elected legislators.

Only three times has this happened, all in Canada - first in 1873, when Sir John A. Macdonald asked the governor-general to prorogue Parliament in order to halt a House of Commons probe into the Pacific Scandal. Lord Dufferin gave in to the demand, but when Parliament reconvened, Macdonald was forced to resign.

No prime minister dared use prorogation to such effect again, until Stephen Harper convinced Governor-General Michaëlle Jean to suspend Parliament in 2008, so the Conservatives could evade a confidence vote.

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http://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/letters/Only+Canada/2451310/story.html