Dangerous possibilities

Politics Watch's Legislative Update adds one more element to the list of downsides if the Cons decide to prorogue Parliament in order to cut off the progress of Bill C-288 and avoid ongoing opposition scrutiny, as such a move would leave Parliament unable to quickly respond to any pressing issue which might arise over the course of the summer:

(O)nce you prorogue Parliament it's not as easy to start it up again as it is after a normal recess.

"After you prorogue there is a rather elaborate procedure that includes a throne speech before you can come back into session," Liberal House Ralph Goodale told PoliticsWatch.

Goodale said if the government were to prorogue and there was a crisis this summer, such as a transportation strike, the government could not just call Parliament back on one day's notice.

"They would have to have a throne speech, the official opening of Parliament and the throne speech of (sic) debate before they can get to whatever emergency debate might come up."

With aboriginal groups and now labour groups make (sic) warnings about a summer of protest and discontent, coupled with the normal unforeseen problems that could arise in today's dangerous world, a decision by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to prorogue to put the brakes on his party's rough few weeks in Parliament is a gamble.

It would be particularly rich for the Cons to leave Parliament unable to quickly respond to an emergency at the same time that they're trying to take credit for a "strategy" to better deal with threats.

But then, it isn't yet confirmed that the Cons will actually be so reckless as to prorogue Parliament. And hopefully they'll realize that the potential negatives of prorogation far outweigh any minimal political benefit which the Cons could acquire by shutting down the current session ahead of schedule.