DCHP-2

prorogue DCHP-2 (July 2016)

• v. — Politics

  to prematurely end a session of Parliament, without dissolving it and thus triggering an election.

  Type: 5. Frequency — Prorogue is a preservation from British English, in which the term has been used since the 17th century (see OED-3, s.v. "prorogue" (3b)). A prorogation ends a session of parliament without triggering an election and requires the permission of the Governor General or Lieutenant-Governor. Although circumstances may justify this move, it has been used by prime ministers to avoid censure or a non-confidence vote, notably by John A. Macdonald in 1873 during the Pacific scandal and Jean Chrétien in 2002 during the sponsorship scandal.
  Although prorogue is used in other nations with parliaments, the term has acquired cultural significance in Canada recently due to the controversial prorogation of Parliament by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2008. Faced with a proposed Liberal-NDP coalition, supported by the Bloc Québécois, Harper evaded a non-confidence vote by requesting the Governor-General to prorogue Parliament (see CBC reference, "GG agrees to suspend Parliament until January").
  Harper again requested a prorogation of Parliament in late 2009, with the stated reason that the government needed to consult with Canadians and businesses in order to move forward with its economic action plan. However, many critics believed that the move to prorogue Parliament was strategically planned in order for Harper to avoid further criticism for the alleged abuse of Afghan detainees (see CBC reference, "PM Shuts Down Parliament until March"). Both instances of prorogation were granted and sparked widespread criticism, protest and debate. As Chart 1 shows, the term is most frequent in Canada.

  See also: Liberal Party  NDP  bell-ringing  Bloc Québécois  non-confidence  

  • 1767  And then the Clerk of the Council, by His Excellency's Command, declared the General Affembly prorogued unto Tuesday the 13th Day of October next, And the same was prorogued accordingly. 
  • 1772  And to the end that nothing may be passed or done by our said council or assembly to the prejudice of us, our heirs and successors, we will and ordain that you the said James Murray shall have and enjoy a negative voice in the making and passing all laws, statutes, and ordinances as aforesaid; and that you shall and may likewise from time to time, as you shall judge necessary, adjourn, prorogue, or dissolve all general assemblies as aforesaid. 
  • 1794  I have therefore thought fit, farther to Prorogue the said General Assembly unto Friday the 6th Day of June next, then to meet for the Dispatch of Business, of which all Persons concerned are hereby required to take Notice, and Govern themselves accordingly. 
  • 1817  Governor may fix the time and place of holding the Sessions of the Legislature. May prorogue and dissolve. 
  • 1841  The Parliament was prorogued on the 10th of February, 1840. 
  • 1863  "Now Parliament's prorogued, my boys, 'Tis no use here to stay;" 
  • 1891  I shall prorogue this tardy Parliament, And promptly head our forces for Detroit. 
  • 1915  It was on May 10th, when just before the arrival of the Governor-General to prorogue Parliament, Donald A. Smith, lifting an Ottawa newspaper in his hand, raised in the House a question of privilege. 
  • 1940  Premier King told the Commons today that he proposed that Parliament would adjourn and not prorogue at the conclusion of the business of the present session. 
  • 1967  However, since the House prorogued for the elections and Mr. Tremblay is on holidays, the report remains unknown. 
  • 1989  Under the time schedule, the Legislature is to prorogue on Feb. 9 or 10. The prorogue would end the first session of the Legislature, which began in November, 1987. 
  • 2010  Part of the reason Harper prorogued Parliament is to give him time to fill five more seats with conservatives who support his agenda. It would give his party a near majority of 51, compared to 49 for the Liberals and five independents. Yes, Harper is playing partisan games by stacking the Senate in his favour, but until the Liberals are willing to support Senate reform, there are no other options.
  • 2013  Noting it's the fourth time Harper has prorogued Parliament as prime minister, Mulcair said he's not unlike his predecessors who have also used prorogation as a means of avoiding tough questions. Just as former Progressive Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney used it to avoid talking about free trade, he said former Liberal Jean Chretien used it to dodge questions on both the Somalia affair and sponsorship scandal.
  • 2016  "We've got a lot of work ahead of us," he said. "We have a very ambitious legislative agenda. We have some significant bills in front of us and our focus is right now to pass those bills." The opposition parties suggested the Liberal government might want to prorogue in order to avoid question period. "They're mired in waste, mismanagement and scandal and I think that's the real reason this government wants to run, but it won't be able to hide from the people of Ontario," said Progressive Conservative Vic Fedeli.