My Suggestion to Her Excellency the Governor General of Canada

The amendment to the Canada Elections Act of 3 May 2007 (Bill C-16) sets a fixed federal election date of roughly four years after the preceding election. The purpose of this Act is to take away the power of the governing party to call an election when it is to its own advantage to do so. The amendment begins, however, with an affirmation of all of the powers of the Governor General, including the power to dissolve parliament at his or her discretion. By tradition the Governor General also acts on the advice of her prime minister.

What is expected to happen in Canada shortly is that the prime minister, Stephen Harper, will ask the Governor General, Michaëlle Jean, to dissolve parliament and call a new election before the next fixed election date of October 19, 2009. He will claim that the current parliament is "disfunctional", a matter of considerable dispute and, I would say, if true, then certainly caused by his own party who, for example, wrote a 200 page handbook for its members on how to disrupt parliamentary committees.

Mr. Harper will be at least circumventing the spirit of his own government's newly passed law, if not breaking it.

I don't know if Her Excellency the Governor General would consider this transgression sufficient to justify denying the prime minister's request, but I would suggest that she at least assert her long-standing role as the ultimate safeguard against abuses of the law and abuses of our democratic system by taking a few days to "consider" her prime minister's request before granting it.