Editor:
In your editorial of Jan. 9, you made the point that Harper shut down Parliament for three months, which is true. However, what he really did was extend the opening date from Jan. 25 to March 3 - just over one month. According to a recent Angus Reid poll, only 43 per cent disagreed with that decision. Apparently, 57 per cent either agreed or simply did not care about the extension.
Prorogation was something the Liberals did many times on no more than a whim. In fact, Chretien called an election on a whim, just after Stockwell Day was elected leader of the Reform Party, and the belief that he could win - which he did.
So why did Harper shut Parliament for an extra month? I suspect myriad reasons were at play.
Focusing on the economy had to be a priority, and the extra time would allow more consultations by MPs for a more inclusive budget being readied for March. The delay would also allow Harper to appoint five more senators to eliminate the road block in the Senate and the filibustering of some 30 bills by the Liberal majority.
Some suggest the reason for the delay was to avoid tough questions on Afghanistan prisoners. This question was dealt with ad nauseam in the last session of Parliament. What new information could possibly be added? Canadian troops, as had been done under the Liberals, continued to hand over captured enemy combatants to the elected government of Afghanistan until alternate facilities were put in place to house them. Is this really an important issue to most Canadians?
Gordon Politeski
Halfmoon Bay
