Procedure and House Affairs committee  Good afternoon, Madam Chair, ladies and gentlemen of the committee. I'm here with you actually on International Human Rights Day. I'm not sure whether your Parliament will mark this event, but 72 years ago, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration o

Procedure and House Affairs committee  My colleague Ms. Messamore cited some very relevant examples from Canada's constitutional history, most notably the prorogation of 1873, when Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald tried to evade the inquiry into the Pacific Scandal. It was really an attempt to use prorogation to e

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The courts have rarely intervened. In fact, some people have taken the position of my colleague Mr. Lagassé that the courts should not interfere. I disagree with that, particularly in light of the U.K. Supreme Court decision on Brexit. It is sometimes difficult to reach a unanimo

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Of course Canada's constitutional law should be reviewed. No one today can conclude that governments have not abused this power of prorogation since the Canadian Confederation was created in 1867. It happened in 1873. This is 2020. There are too many examples of this power being

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I agree with others, including my colleague Mr. Lagassé, that this prorogation lasted far too long. It was not necessary, because we could have continued to operate the program. We know how the Speech from the Throne is prepared. It is done quickly. It can be done overnight. In

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Mr. Blaikie, I would add that it is essential to come up with a solution, which may be unconstitutional, because amending the Constitution of Canada is complex. However, I believe that every responsible member of this Parliament should undertake an initiative to restrict this p

Procedure and House Affairs committee  My answer is no, and I've made my reasons clear in my opening statement. The reality is that there is no framework for the discretionary powers, and our governors general have never really wanted to exercise them. It is therefore possible to prorogue at any time because it is

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I believe so, yes.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  No, I must admit I'm not aware. I am aware that some work has been done and the committees could have, to some extent, looked into the WE Charity issue. Let me just read something to all of you. I'll read it in English because it's in English. It's the decision of the House, of

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think it's so important that all of you listen to this. It's paragraph 55. This is the judges who are speaking. They say, “Let us remind ourselves of the foundations of our constitution. We live in a representative democracy. The House of Commons exists because the people have

Procedure and House Affairs committee  —“(unlike the position in some other democracies).” I hope you can all read that case. I make the case that you read all that—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That's very interesting, because this is a binding decision, not a reference or an opinion of the Supreme Court. In fact, the appeal to the Supreme Court was initiated by one woman, whom even the Attorney General of Scotland supported. The U.K. Minister of Justice immediately r

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It's not as clear-cut as that. The answer is difficult. It may possibly be done by section 44, but there are other views on this issue.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Anyone who claims that it is abusive logically also thinks that it was not necessary. I respect my colleagues' points of view, but I believe that it was both abusive and unnecessary. I would be curious to find out the public opinion in Canada and whether people found prorogatio

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to acknowledge the members of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. I served on this committee for a number of years, along with Bill Graham and Irwin Cotler. In those days, we had some very good debates. I remember