Prorogation will put the House of Commons on hold until the Liberals find a new leader as Canada heads into the next federal election.
On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Gov. Gen. Mary Simon had granted his request to prorogue Parliament until March 24.
That will put the House of Commons on hold until the Liberals find a new leader as Canada heads into the next federal election.
Q: What is prorogation?
A: It’s a prerogative act of the Crown, taken on the advice of the prime minister, which results in the termination of a session of Parliament.
Parliament is prorogued either by the Governor General, or deputy of the Governor General, in the Senate Chamber, or by proclamation published in the Canada Gazette.
Parliament can last four or five years. Prorogation is a tool used to divide up this time, said law professor Adam Dodek, who teaches constitutional law at the University of Ottawa.
“It’s a parliamentary tool. It’s neither good nor bad. It’s tool to divide Parliament into manageable sessions.”
Q: What happens now?
A: Prorogation ends all proceedings before Parliament. Government bills that have not received Royal Assent prior to prorogation “die” on the Order Paper.
“In a non-political sense, prorogation is a parliamentary re-set. All existing legislation is swept into the recycle bin,” said Dodek.
Bills must be reintroduced as new bills in the next session. Some can be reinstated at the same stage — although this would be unusual.
Committee activities also cease during the prorogation period.
The next session will start out with a Speech from the Throne.
Q: What happens to parliamentarians during a prorogation?
Evening Update
A: The Speaker of the House, the prime minister, ministers and parliamentary secretaries all remain in office. Members of the House retain their full rights and privileges. MPs are released from their parliamentary duties until Parliament is summoned again.
Q: Why prorogue?
A: A prorogation can buy time and allows the government to “re-set” its priorities. It also helps to distract the public from criticism or poor performance in the polls.
In 2009, for example, prime minister Stephen Harper requested a prorogation, ostensibly to accommodate the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games. Opponents accused Harper of avoiding an investigation into abusive treatment of detainees in Afghanistan.
Q: How will prorogation affect the public service?
A: Prorogation only affects Parliament, the legislative branch of government, said Dodek. The public service is part of the executive branch and still works under usual conditions.
Q: What was the 2008 prorogation and why was it so dramatic?
A: On Dec. 4, 2008, prime minister Stephen Harper, then leading a minority Conservative government, advised then-governor general Michaëlle Jean to prorogate Parliament. The Liberals and NDP had formed a coalition with the support of the Bloc Québécois and threatened a non-confidence vote that would topple the Conservative government. A prorogation would buy time in the hope the coalition would crumble.
For two hours, television cameras were trained on the doors of Rideau Hall as speculation circulated about what was happening inside the vice-regal residence.
Most of the what the Governor General does is on the advice of the prime minister. What was unusual about this scenario was that Harper made his request when then the House of Commons had only been sitting for a few weeks. It would be like closing school at the end of September, said Dodek.
In a 2010 interview with the Globe and Mail, Jean addressed what had happened for the first time. Jean said she wasn’t aiming to keep the nation in suspense, but wanted to take the necessary time before arriving at such an important decision.
“You have to think about it. You have to ask questions. The idea wasn’t to create artificial suspense. The idea was to send a message — and for people to understand that this warranted reflection,” Jean told the Globe and Mail.
At the time, there was also the question in political circles of what might happen if Jean had declined Harper’s request, including speculation that Harper would go over Jean’s head and visit the Queen if Jean refused his request. Or that Harper could have asked the Queen to remove Jean as Governor General.
“That would have been the nuclear constitutional option,” said Dodek. It would have triggered a constitutional crisis.”
Q: This prorogation will last until March 24. Is that a particularly long prorogation?
A: No. The prorogation of 2008-2009 lasted about seven weeks. Under the constitution, a prorogation may last up to a year — although this has never happened, said Dodek.
Q: How will things change after prorogation ends?
A: Justin Trudeau has said he will step down as both prime minister and leader of the Liberal party of Canada. Trudeau will tender his resignation to the Governor General and the new leader will become prime minister.
This has happened a number of times in the past.
In 1984, Pierre Trudeau, facing certain electoral defeat, retired from politics. In June 1984, John Turner was elected in the Liberal leadership convention. Nine days after being sworn in as prime minister, Turner asked then-governor general Jeanne Sauvé to dissolve Parliament and called for an election in September 1984. The Liberals lost in a landslide, although Turner continued as leader of the Opposition.
In February 1993, prime minister Brian Mulroney announced his retirement from politics. Kim Campbell won the Progressive Conservative leadership in June 1993 and became prime minster.
On Dec. 12, 2003, Jean Chrétien resigned as prime minister and handed power over to Paul Martin, who had been elected the previous month in the 2003 Liberal leadership convention.
Q: What’s the difference between the dissolution of Parliament and prorogation?
A: Dissolution ends the life of Parliament and always triggers a new election, said Dodek. Like prorogation, dissolution also kills all proceedings in Parliament.
The main difference is that, with a prorogation, Parliament will be back, he said.
“Prorogation is like hanging a sign on Parliament that says, ‘Closed for renovations until March 24,’ ” said Dodek. “Dissolution is like hanging a sign that says ‘Closed. Under new management. Grand reopening soon!’ “
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