Advertisement

“Stephen Harper breaks record for shutting down debate” says the NDP

Over the past couple of years, the opposition parties have complained 'ad nauseum,' about the Harper government's penchant to limit debate in the House of Commons.

Well, now, according to the NDP, this government has set the record for imposing time allocation — a procedural tool that allows a government to set strict limits on the time for debate.

According to the NDP figures, released earlier this week, Harper has used time allocation 31 times — since May 2011 — in the 41st parliamentary session. That's one more than former Prime Minister Jean Chretien did in the 36th session of Parliament and two more times than the duo of Brian Mulroney and Kim Campbell did between 1988 and 1993.

And look for Harper to shatter the record — after all, he has two more years left in his current mandate.

[ Related: Was Harper justified in attacking Trudeau over Boston Marathon comments? ]

"The Conservatives are running roughshod over Parliament and our democracy," NDP House Leader Nathan Cullen wrote on his Facebook page.

But the Conservatives blame the NDP for making them to do it.

In a statement released last year, the Tories implied they have little choice but to limit debates.

"Last week the NDP revealed their true agenda - they intend to delay ALL legislation as long as possible. It explains why the NDP almost never agree to holding a vote on legislation in the House of Commons," the statement published at CBC.ca noted.

"If the NDP had their way, Canada would go the way of other countries where political gridlock and indecision has led to economic uncertainty which threatens the world economy. That is not what Canadians want from their government."

[ Related: Tories undaunted by criticisms about Trudeau attack ads ]

Government House leader Peter Van Loan echoed those comments in the House, on Thursday.

"I would like...to respond a little bit to his comments on the time allocation on the bill yesterday. Yesterday's bill was Bill S-2, a bill to give aboriginal women and their children on reserve the same matrimonial rights that other people have. It is a bill that has been in Parliament for five years, through a series of Parliaments, in fact, and it has not yet come to a vote," Van Loan said.

"That is why we did what we had to do, after five years of obstruction from the opposition preventing the bill from coming forward."

(Photo courtesy of the NDP)

Are you a politics junkie?
Follow @politicalpoints on Twitter!