To the Editor:
RE: Letter to the Editor "Harper defender does tally on past prorogation", Almaguin News, Jan. 28, 2010.
Jim McColl presented his "Proroguing Score" with a comparison between past Prime Minister (PM) Pierre E. Trudeau and current PM Stephen Harper, citing 11 prorogations by Trudeau against two for Harper.
Unfortunately, like several other writers of letters to the editor in newspapers across Canada, Mr. McColl appears to be copying incorrect information that may have been provided by an unreliable source. Specifically, Mr. McColl's assessment states that Mr. Trudeau prorogued Parliament during the 26th Parliament in Dec. 1963, in April 1965, and again during the 27th Parliament in May 1967.
Unfortunately, this is simply untrue. Pierre E. Trudeau was not leader of the Liberal Party of Canada until April 6, 1968, and did not become the PM of Canada until April 20, 1968 when he was sworn in after the resignation of PM Lester B. Pearson. Pearson was PM of Canada from April 22, 1963 to April 20, 1968, through the 26th Parliament and into the 27th Parliament. If Parliament was prorogued three times during that period, it would be correct to attribute them to past PM Pearson and not past PM Trudeau.
There is nothing wrong with prorogation as a means to adjourn a Session in the House of Commons without actually dissolving it. The real concern with PM Harper's second prorogation is the lack of credibility behind his reasons for doing it. There was, and is, no reason why the PM and his cabinet could not continue with government business with Parliament still in session.
Doug Brydges
Callander