tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887779723096547553.post7277544015030992305..comments2020-01-23T10:10:09.821-08:00Comments on Canadian Alien Nation: On Canadian Parliament ProroguementDr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887779723096547553.post-32908486482180782732010-01-26T00:33:08.128-08:002010-01-26T00:33:08.128-08:00To follow up on our intense agreement today, just ...To follow up on our intense agreement today, just a minor comment:<br /><br />I think the greater issue is not whether or not Mr. Harper is proroguing parliament (though there are quite legitimate concerns against his use of the institution, considering the political expediency that it appears to have granted vis-a-vis the Afghan detainee issue). The issue is that this focus on comparing various statistics is irrelevant: to ignore the actual context of each instance of proroguing is the fatal flaw.Adam Nowekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03136286880413840491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887779723096547553.post-69786126821041700042010-01-24T15:12:31.520-08:002010-01-24T15:12:31.520-08:00Your argument is that Mr. Trudeau prorogued parlia...Your argument is that Mr. Trudeau prorogued parliament slightly more than Mr. Harper has (or, statistically speaking, essentially the same amount.)? <br /><br />If that is your argument, I believe that that is the main point that the comment in the <i>Toronto Globe and Mail</i> is making: that the current proroguement is simply how Canadian politics have long been done; and the reactions to are to be understood as the ordinary give-and-take of partisanship.Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887779723096547553.post-48793323839835580402010-01-23T13:35:06.745-08:002010-01-23T13:35:06.745-08:00Ah, the Globe and Mail. The bastion of balanced jo...Ah, the Globe and Mail. The bastion of balanced journalism.<br /><br />Trudeau was in power for sixteen years, and prorogued parliament eleven times. That is an average of 0.6875 prorogues per year.<br /><br />Harper, on the other hand, has been in power for (almost) four years now, proroguing parliament twice. That would be an average of 0.5 prorogues per year.<br /><br />While Trudeau certainly abused the institution more often than Harper has in his time as Prime Minister, I think this article is merely a case of creative statistics. 11 to 2 is a noticeable difference: 0.6875 to 0.5 is not.Adam Nowekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03136286880413840491noreply@blogger.com