PM Stephen Harper gets OK to prorogue Parliament

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has convinced Governor General Michaëlle Jean to prorogue Parliament, the Prime Minister's office confirmed Thursday.

Harper and Jean met for more than two hours Thursday morning to discuss the developments that had created a constitutional crisis with a coalition of two opposition parties seeking to topple the government and ask that the governor general to appoint the coalition leader, Liberal Stephane Dion, as prime minister.

The coalition of the New Democrats and the Liberal Party has the support of the separatist Bloc Quebecois, which is not formally joining the coalition. MPs from all the parties have written to the head of state telling her Harper no longer has the support of the majority of the House of Commons and that she should allow the coalition to lead the country's government.

The impasse developed after the Harper government introduced an economic package that ignored most of their concerns. In fact they claimed that Harper ignored the economic reality and put and put measures in that plan that were not only ineffective, but were offensive.

One of the measures was a plan to cut government funding for political parties; another imposed a temporary ban of right of public sector unions to strike. The opposition immediately reacted and swiftly put together a coalition with an alternative plan for rescue the economy. Harper reacted by dropping contentious clauses.

But the opposition said it was too late and the turnaround only demonstrated Harper's insincerity and declared that Harper has lost the confidence of the House and that they were ready to take charge under the stewardship of the Liberal Leader, Stephane Dion.

In a brief statement confirming the governor general's decision he said Parliament would get back to work on January 26. There would be a brief Throne Speech followed by the presentation of a federal budget the next day. He declined comment on details of his private discussions with the head of state but he said Thursday's decision gives his government an opportunity to work closely with the other parties and the two independents to do what is in the best interest of Canada as a whole.

He said it is absolutely critical for all parties to work together with regard to the decisions to be made with respect to the government's economic stimulus plan. He invited the opposition parties to work with him for the common good. The economy, he said, is the priority now.

Harper told reporters Canadians are frustrated and want to move on.

The break prevents a no-confidence vote that had been scheduled for Monday Dec. 8 that would have demonstrated that the Harper government has lost the confidence of Parliament. That would have opened the door for a new government or fresh elections.

The Liberal-NDP coalition seized on the momentum to say that they were ready to form an alternative government rather than go back to the people in a general election so soon after the October vote that returned a stronger Conservative minority.

Harper had clearly brought on his own problems by ignoring the opposition in developing its fiscal package. Even his own MPs were angry that he had squandered the goodwill of a minority Parliament with his arrogance and his determination to proceed with his personal agenda.

Now he says he would take the opportunity to consult with them in preparing the budget. But it is clear that what has happened is that Harper is changing his tune and offering to work with everyone. But the Parliament is still likely to defeat his budget, which would mean that he would have to resign. That could see an alternative government taking office with an election or fresh elections.

Harper has hinted clearly that he would take the second route but the governor general is not obliged to dissolve Parliament for a new vote; at that time she could ask the leader who commands majority support in the Commons to form a government.

Political commentators say Harper's game plan is to launch a public relations offensive to break up the coalition and, hopefully survive the budget vote.

Opposition MPs are determined to vote down the budget although they have not seen it and don't know whether it would address their concerns. Liberal BoB Rae said the vote would be not only about a budget but about the principle of a leader who has lost the confidence of the Parliament by taking the unprecedented step of shutting down Parliament and running away.

Liberal leader Stephane Dion said this is the first time in Canadian parliamentary history that a prime minister has chosen to hide from Parliament rather than face the elected representatives of the people. He said this act of political cowardice is a bad precedent for democracy. He pledged to continue fighting for a better deal for the Canadian people and said he would only support a Tory budget is there is "monumental change."

NDP Leader Jack Layton said Harper has locked the door of Parliament in a unprecedented move aimed at suppressing the will of elected members. He insisted that nothing has changed and said he would continue to fight for a better deal for Canadians by working with the other parties in the House of commons.

Layton said Harper was dishonest when he said that he considered opposition opinion when he presented his economic package, adding that the prime minister ignored the opinion of the NDP.

The leader of the Bloc Quebecois lambasted Harper for what he called a campaign of misinformation about the coalition. Harper has argued that the coalition has given the separatist party a veto on all matters. Gilles Duceppe said Harper's sentiments are hypocritical since he and Harper had worked together in 2004 to topple the Liberal government of Paul Martin.

He called Harper a liar for telling reporters that the opposition he had sought the opposition's input into the economic package. He said that package was Harper's alone.

Duceppe said Harper no longer has the moral authority to govern, adding that prorogation of Parliament sets a dangerous precedent because all it does is postpone the inevitable, not change the view of the majority of the members of Parliament.

For now there is a calm on Parliament Hill before the new storm that is building. First it would be a massive public relations campaign that Harper is poised to win given the resources at his disposal. The next phase would be the budget and the vote that must follow.