A new poll taken during the Harper government’s second prorogation of parliament has revealed some ironic statistics. Despite the Prime Minister’s trumpeting of the need for Senate reform, only 33 per cent of Canadians feel that the body too powerful, whereas 42 per cent think the Prime Minister’s Office itself needs to have its influence checked. Nik Nanos, head of the firm that conducted the study, said prorogation is probably to blame for the focus on the PMO. The poll also found that Canadians think the most under-influential branch of government is the House of Commons, with 20 per cent saying it needed more power and only 13 per cent thinking it had too much.