Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament - Toronto Protest, Yonge-Dundas Square 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Date: Saturday, January 23, 2010 Time: 1:00pm - 5:00pm Location: Yonge-Dundas Square (Southeast corner of Yonge and Dundas; Dundas Station)
“When a government starts trying to cancel dissent or avoid dissent is frankly when it’s rapidly losing its moral authority to govern.” (Stephen Harper, Canadian Press, April 18, 2005)
On December 30th Stephen Harper announced - without consulting anyone - that he will be Proroguing Parliament and suspending democracy until March 3. This is the second time he has done this in under two years.
Proroguing means:
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All 37 bills being debated in Parliament are thrown in the trash. Discussion on bills starts from scratch in March, wasting months of hard work by all parties. These bills included new crime legislation, limits on credit card insurance rates, etc.
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Committees investigating accusations of torture of Afghan detainees stop working
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Discussions and decisions about the pension crisis affecting Canada's seniors stops
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Questions about Canada's inaction at the Copenhagen climate-change summit are silenced. Opportunities to move forward with Canada's plan for sustainable development are stalled for over a month.
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Your MPs cannot raise your concerns in Ottawa
Our troops in Afghanistan don’t get to take a couple of months off. You don't either. Why does Harper feel he can?
On January 23, 2010 you can stand up and make your voice heard Canada-and tell the government to get back to work.
