“Prorogue” comes from the Latin: pro, forward, and rogare, ask. Millions of Canadians have lived long and happy lives without needing to know the word. No longer.
In an effort to explain just what we could face as early as this evening, The Hook offers this official definition of prorogation from the House of Commons website.
Here’s an excerpt from the “detailed article” that accompanies the definition:
During a period of prorogation (or recess), the Speaker, the Prime Minister, Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries remain in office and all Members of the House retain their full rights and privileges.
The principal effect of ending a session by prorogation is to end business. All government bills that have not received Royal Assent prior to prorogation cease to exist; committee activity also ceases. Thus, no committee can sit after a prorogation.
In order for government bills to be proceeded with in a new session, they must be reintroduced as new bills or they may be reinstated, if the House agrees to this.
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OilbertaRedTory
3 years ago
Harper Pro-Rogue ?
... or will he ask for Stockwell Day's resignation ?
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081203.wquebec1203/BNStory/National/home
Skywalker
3 years ago
But
While the business of the house stops and the opposition are impotent, all the government's (harper's) activities continue. Imagine a whole month of setting land mines for the other opposition parties and playin political games. The mind boggles as to how counter productive that would be for the country. It would play right into Harper's hands. That is why he want to prorogue the house.
CobbleHillian
3 years ago
Prorogation
The real question that the constitutional experts will have to answer is whether the Governor General(GG) must accede to Harper's request for prorogation even though she has the foreknowledge (via leaders' letters) that Harper will not enjoy the confidence of the house after a future (Monday) confidence vote of the House. Prorogation is a prerogative of the sovereign, but has modern Commonwealth practice made it an automatic thing?
The media and politicians seem to think that Harper will get it just by asking. Ed Schreyer, a prior GG says that the GG can with hold prorogation thereby allowing the vote of confidence to occur in good time.
The ND's went so far as to publicly state that their members, 'individually and collectively', do not have confidence in the Conservatives. This means that they may, in addition to Layton's letter, submit individual letters to the GG.
Should the GG with hold prorogation and ask the coalition to form a government this will probably go down as one the strongest demonstrations of the sovereign's reserve powers in recent times.