Governor General Guy Giorno approves boss's request to suspend Parliament:

Democracy has now become dysfunctional along with Parliament itself. This is progress?


GG approves PM's request to suspend Parliament:

Updated Thu. Dec. 4 2008 11:35 AM ET


CTV.ca News Staff

Gov. Gen Michaelle Jean has approved Prime Minister Stephen Harper's request to suspend Parliament, agreeing to put the government on hold until the end of January, CTV News has learned.
CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife reported the development from outside Rideau Hall.
Harper met with Jean on Thursday morning for more than two hours and asked her to support his plan to prorogue Parliament in order to avoid a confidence motion scheduled for Monday that would have likely toppled his government.
The Liberals and NDP have agreed to form a coalition, with the support of the Bloc Quebecois, and have signaled their intention to bring down the government over the fiscal update that was introduced last week and would have come before Commons for a vote on Monday.
They had hoped Jean would deny the prorogation request and let the confidence motion go ahead. If it did, and the government fell, Jean would have to decide whether to send Canadians to the polls for another election, or grant the coalition the chance to win the confidence of the House of Commons and possibly take over government.
Jean returned home early from a central European tour on Wednesday to deal with the political crisis that has gripped the nation.
The decision Thursday followed a rare nationally televised address by Harper on Wednesday night.
In the five-minute pre-taped broadcast Harper said the opposition plans to oust his government and seize power would cripple the country's economy.
"The opposition is attempting to impose this deal without your say, without your consent and without your vote," he said.
Harper also signaled he would be willing to work with the opposition parties in order to deliver an economic plan that will help Canada navigate perilous economic times.
"Canada's government is acting to deal with the crisis right now," he said, adding that the opposition parties should "bring forward specific proposals.
"In fact, we have already changed some of our own proposals to meet their concerns."
Later on Wednesday, Liberal Leader Stephane Dion took to the airwaves after a major delay that saw national networks filling time as they waited for the tape to arrive.
He said the Conservatives have done little to help Canadians cope with the global economic crisis.
"Stephen Harper still refuses to propose measures to stimulate the Canadian economy," said Dion. "His mini-budget last week demonstrated that his priority is partisanship and settling ideological scores.
The NDP's Jack Layton said Wednesday that while other countries have been working to stimulate their economies, the Conservatives have been wasting time with partisan politics.
"Stephen Harper simply refused to act," he said, adding the Conservatives also attacked the rights of workers and women.
The opposition began to cobble together their coalition after the Tories proposed last week to cut public funding for political parties as a part of their fall economic update.
The update also lacked a sufficient stimulus package, the opposition has said.