The conservatives using the Governor General to prorogue Parliament is no different than when Mcdonald used the GG to prorogue parliament due to the railway scandal and Chretien for the sponsorship. The GG is essentially just a tool to be abused when the current government comes under serious criticism. Like sure he might do something? But being a tool to stop the law making process of parliament because the prime minister is under investigation doesnt strike me as a viable use. Let the house vote on prorogation instead of letting some chump who was not elected. The system is archaic....
I think we need a bit of a history lesson for you,
Johnnny.
Prorogation during the Pacific Scandal
The Right Honourable Sir John A. Macdonald
GCB, KCMG, PC, PC, QC, the 1st Prime Minister, did indeed advise the Governor General to prorogue Parliament, in August of 1873, seemingly so that his Government could avoid parliamentary scrutiny. At the time, the Government enjoyed the confidence of the elected House, which means that there really are very few circumstances under which the Governor General could (or should) refuse the advice of the Prime Minister.
The Governor General did not just leave it at the approval of the request, though. The Most Honourable The Marquess of Dufferin and Ava
KP, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, PC (then The Earl of Dufferin), the 3rd Governor General, established certain conditions on the prorogation: Parliament could be prorogued for no more than ten weeks (whereas it is constitutional for prorogation to last up to a year); the Governor General appointed a commission to continue the investigation into the scandal in the interim, and was ordered to present findings upon Parliament's return.
Once Parliament resumed, the commission presented its report. The House of Commons, despite its Conservative majority, voted to censure the Prime Minister, and he was thereby forced to offer his resignation to the Governor General. The Governor General then appointed The Honourable Alexander Mackenzie
PC, the 3rd Prime Minister, to form a Government; which he did, and then provided immediate advice for dissolution and a general election.
It looks to me that things worked out exactly the way that they were supposed to. This was a political crisis, and not a constitutional one; the Governor General is but a constitutional referee and, as the Queen's representative, should not be actively involved in the politics of the day.
Prorogation during the Sponsorship Scandal
In 2002, when The Right Honourable Jean Chrétien
PC, OM, CC, QC, the 20th Prime Minister, advised the Governor General to prorogue Parliament, ostensibly to avoid the tabling of a report from the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts related to the Sponsorship Scandal, the Government continued to enjoy the confidence of the elected House; the Governor General had little choice but to accept the advice of the Prime Minister and to prorogue the legislature.
However, it is also true that the first session of the 37th Parliament had already gone on for nearly two years. 14 Senate Government bills, and another 47 Government bills from the Commons, had already passed all legislative stages and had received royal assent. The legislative program for that session was winding down, and the next logical step is to prorogue Parliament, to present a new speech from the throne, and to deliver the next legislative program.
Again, in almost all cases, prorogation is a fairly routine mechanism of Parliament.
In any case, once Parliament resumed, the investigation into the Sponsorship Scandal continued, and parliamentary scrutiny resulted in the resignation of the Prime Minister, and the formation of a new Ministry. An election soon followed, and Canadians returned the Liberals to Parliament with only a plurality of seats; the Government was soon thereafter defeated on a question of confidence, ushering in ten years of Conservative government.
Again, this was not a constitutional crisis, but a political one. Everything worked as it was supposed to. The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson
PC, CC, CMM, COM, CD, the 26th Governor General, was bound by convention and precedent to accept the advice of a Prime Minister who continued to enjoy the confidence of the House. Had the Governor General refused such advice, while they continued to enjoy the support of our elected representatives,
that would have precipitated a constitutional crisis.
Really, the point is, the Governor General should take all possible steps, when a political crisis befalls Parliament, to give the Houses of Parliament every possible opportunity to solve their crisis on their own, before resorting to the reserve powers of the Crown to intervene.
Type in Governor General of Canada in google, check the news tab and low and behold we have the GG doing **** all substantial.
Of course these things are substantial.
The Governor General, as the Queen's representative, is the head of the Canadian honours system. The recognition of excellence is an important part of uniting Canadians and celebrating the fantastic things that we do. It is appropriate that the fount of honour should be Her Majesty, and the Queen's representative, so that national honours are not "tainted" by partisan politics of the day.
