Liberals Accuse Stephen Harper Of Going Into Hiding
Posted January 11, 2010 1:06 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Liberals have accused Stephen Harper of going into hiding over unpopular decisions made by the Conservative government.
On December 30, the Prime Minister decided to prorogue Parliament until March 3. That means there won’t be any activity on the Hill for two months.
Liberal party leader Michael Ignatieff said he would never prorogue Parliament to avoid controversy.
“The conventional wisdom has been that they’re always very effective,” noted Maclean’s national editor Andrew Coyne.
“It may be effective for the very short-term, getting people riled up, but I think they do so at the cost of your long-term capital as a party…the tone of the ad is very cheesy,” he added.
The Liberal party has charged that the decision to suspend parliament was aimed at suspending parliamentary committees – particularly the special committee that had been investigating allegations that prisoners handed over by Canadian soldiers to Afghan authorities have been routinely tortured.
Harper is also accused of avoiding dealing with climate change on the heels of the conference in Copenhagen.
Suspending parliament “is not illegal, it’s not unconstitutional, but it’s dirty pool,” Coyne described.
“It goes against the principle of what Parliament is supposed to be about and that’s holding governments to account.”
Parliament was scheduled to resume on January 25. Ignatieff has ordered all Liberal MPs and senators to return to work on that date.
The party has also launched a series of attack ads. Click here to see them.
With files from The Canadian Press.
