Ottawa

Stop bothering the Governor General

David Johnston is probably not going to say no to Stephen Harper

David Johnston seems like a nice fellow and he is, in theory, invested with great power. And it is presumably with that power in mind that Independent MP Bruce Hyer has apparently written to the Governor General to ask him to deny the Prime Minister’s bid to prorogue Parliament this fall. Here, similarly, is a petition that begs Mr. Johnston to refuse the Prime Minister’s request.

As I’ve written, there is reason to be upset about the possible prorogation of Parliament this fall. But the answer to less parliamentary democracy over the next two months is probably not that our unelected head of state should invoke rarely used powers to deny a request to delay the return of Parliament from an individual who presently holds the confidence of the House. Probably nothing short of a crisis should be necessary before the Governor General considers intruding on something like prorogation.

This particular question of democracy would be better answered via democracy, either with the people’s elected representatives taking up reform or with the people taking up their concerns and making use of their freedom to speak and vote.

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