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The recent decision to prorogue Parliament on December 30th was yet another example of the unwillingness of the current government to address pressing issues of importance to Canadians. At this point, most of the commentary has been directed towards the Prime Minister’s stonewalling with regards to allegations of torture of Afghani detainees. While the detainee issue is important in its own right, the prorogation issue reaches far beyond the behaviour of Canada’s Afghani allies in a theatre of war. Instead, it goes to the heart of the role of Parliament and the nature of representative government in a modern democracy.
Canadians who have a reasonable understanding of our democratic institutions will know that Parliament exists so that citizens, through their elected officials, can hold their Members of Parliament to account for their decisions, in particular spending, and to allow for a discussion of important national issues.
Due to the refusal of the government to meet with Parliament, there is currently no way for any policy issue to play out in a public forum. As important as the detainee issue is, the same concern exists for longer-term policy matters that need the attention of government. Most policy analysts will know that dealing with issues before they reach a crisis status gives policymakers more options and offers a chance for a more cost effective response than waiting until it is almost too late to act.
A good case in point is health care funding which has received almost no public attention during the past three years, although the government moved quickly to respond to the H1N1 pandemic. While the government deserves credit for that, there is already overwhelming evidence within government circles that the overall health care system will be unsustainable at some point within the next five to ten years.
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