Categories: Andrew Coyne, Capital Read

The GG can say no (redux)

by Andrew Coyne on Monday, December 1, 2008 3:10pm - 208 Comments

Roger Gibbins offers a way for the Governor General to get us all out of this mess: Just Say No. Don’t call an election. Don’t hand power to an unstable and potentially destructive coalition. Simply refuse the Prime Minister’s resignation, and send him back to Parliament, with instructions to find a consensus on his economic plan. Discuss.

Tags: coalition government, constitutional crisis, Governor General

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stewacide

This is really nonsensical. The GG *requires* a government that can command a majority; on that there’s no fudging. This is why I believe she’d also be bound to refuse a request to delay a confidence vote the Government is likely to lose.

EVERY HOUR Harper tries to hang on he’s just doing more damage to his party, the country, and the constitution. If he tries to drag the GG into the political fray he’ll have done more damage to the nation’s sovereignty than any Bloc member could ever dream.
Brad Sallows

>Brad Sallows, this is about depth of experience as opposed to callow divisiveness. Here’s the formula…

David Fraser, then you should have no problem denying the coalition its shot. First they announce a council of four economic advisors which pretty much rules out the possibility of having depth of experience; then we find out from three of the “advisors” that no such thing exists. That’s a pretty straight-up lie in addition to the admission of fiscal incompetence/lack of confidence.

An election is not “required”, but it would be very good form to have one. Despite the partisanship among all the commentary, all sides will have to admit that all parties have introduced things they did not mention during the campaign, and gone back on commitments made during the campaign – all for the sake of political advantage. The coalition started out pretending it had a plan; as various trial balloons have been floated and shot down, it’s clear they’re making everything up as they go along.

The coalition is doing this because it can, not because it should or because it possesses fiscal wisdom unknown to the Conservatives.

I suppose Dion can’t get the sight of the PM’s office out of his mind, or he’d back down and arrange a stable transition to the next leader while the party rebuilds its finances for the next election. Layton negotiated the Bloc – what did they have to lose; Duceppe can work with anyone issue by issue if he has to – on side, and then Dion. The NDP will enjoy a brief period of influence, and doubtless achieve some of their ideological ends. When the coalition folds, the NDP will prepare to go back to its role of Opposition Second Banana, the Bloc will continue to enjoy a position of disproportionate influence without requiring actual power, and the Liberal brand will be unsalable. Dion will already be long gone, and his successor will lead the Toxic Party of Canada. On those last two, I think the cooler and pessimistic heads have it exactly right.
mynalee johnstone

I think that many of us are far too fed up with Harper’s behavior to support him any further.
Angus

There is so little precedent related to this situation, and those precedents are either so old or in the realm of provincial or foreign legislatures, that there are are in fact no prededents. If Canada is a democracy, then the only option for the GG is to take the advice of the PM. If that advice is to call an election or to prorogue parliament, then so be it. All the “blame” or “credit” will fall to the PM and the government. Eventually the people will get a chance to pass judgement on the PM’s advice.
Common Sense Evolution

There is yet another option. The GG could call both the PM and Darth Dion into her home, offer some Christmas cake and tea and tell both of them to form a coalition government. This may the best case scenario. Dion can be compared to young Anikan Skywalker just as he turned to the Dark Side. Jack Layton is Darth Tyranus (Senator Palpatine) the Sith Lord using Dion to capture absolute power.

Seriously, this option gives everyone an out, and Dion still gets to share in the goodies under the tree, except for Jackie boy who will no doubt once again be looking into the toy store Christmas Eve, never really knowing if he is going ot get that Lionel train set. I am confident that the GG will make a decision that she feels will be in the best interest of “us”, the Canadian voter, and her decision will not be Partisan!!!!
scoutb

ok, let’s place bets since there’s no other way to enjoy this debacle. I think that the GG, (like her predecessor before her would have) will choose a lib, ndp, bloc coalition. My reasoning is that all who have passed through CBC halls as employees praise older American shows and fund poor Canadian ones. As it happens, the current American political drama isn’t bad. Our current mini-drama definitely needs support from someone who understands ‘Canadian Production Values’.
T. Thwim

Hm. The Prime Minister technically has the confidence of House of Commons right now. Therefore she should follow his advice and prorogue.
However, it can be argued that the only reason that technicality remains is because he delayed the non-confidence vote by a week. So perhaps he does not have confidence, so the GG should wait.

So.. combine both of these. She agrees to Mr. Harper’s request to Prorogue the house, but it doesn’t take effect until Tuesday. Thus allowing the non-confidence vote to play out as it will, but giving the conservatives a month or so to see if they can make the necessary changes to regain the confidence of the House for the Throne Speech.

Odds that the Conservatve Party remains stuck on Harper knowing that he’s a lame duck that’ll get them sent to opposition?
Angus

The Monarch reigns, she does not rule. It is the job of the PM to advise the monarch (GG) on matters from elections to appointments, to commissions, to appointing judges and senators.The GG thus cannot make political decisions, such as when to prorogue or when to call and election. The job of the GG is to take the advice of the PM. That’s it. We have not given the Monarch the right to independently decide for some centuries, and we certainly haven’t chosen GGs based on their political or constitutional acumen. If the GG does not take the PM’s advice, whatever it may be, just think of the consequences for future PMs, whether Dion or someone else.
Mackenzie King may have been a scoundrel in how he dealt with Lord Byng, but the fact is that he advised the GG to call an election, Byng refused (for what looked at the time to him like good reasons), but when an election was inevitbly held not so long later, Mackenzie King was elected with a majority. End of GG’s attempt at independence.

Once it gets through the heads of the boys from the high school debating club who are having so much fun getting a coalition together that the GG must take the PM’s advice and there actually will be an election, they will probably back off.