Could the courts overturn Trudeau's proroguing of Parliament? John Carpay explains
Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms president John Carpay compares Justin Trudeau's decision to prorogue Parliament to Boris Johnson's same choice in the United Kingdom in 2019, which ultimately saw Johnson's prorogation quickly overturned after a legal decision found he had given the Queen unlawful advice prior to suspending Parliament.
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Ahead of his decision to tentatively step down as leader of the Liberals, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau convinced Governor General Mary Simon — whom he appointed — to prorogue Parliament. The move put the House of Commons on hold until March 24, just a few short weeks after the Liberals conclude their leadership campaign.
But was this decision merited? Or should Trudeau have been forced to face his critics in Parliament, likely leading to his minority government being brought down by a non-confidence vote?
While the process is legal and has occurred in Canada before, a situation comparable to Trudeau's decision to prorogue Parliament was undertaken by former U.K. prime minister Boris Johnson. In 2019, Johnson received the Queen's blessing to prorogue the U.K. parliament, only for that decision to be reversed a short time later following a legal appeal.
Could something similar happen in Canada? That's exactly what the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms is trying to accomplish with a new lawsuit. JCCF president John Carpay joined Tuesday night's episode of The Ezra Levant Show, where he explained why the same reasons that led to Johnson's prorogation being overturned could apply in Canada.
In the U.K., the country's top court ruled “it was a violation of the constitutional principle of the sovereignty of Parliament,” John explained.
“He wanted to get the United Kingdom out of the European Union quicker. It was dragging on, it had been three years since the referendum, and the court ruled that his prorogation of Parliament was illegal because it sought to shield the government from scrutiny by Parliament.”
Being based on the same Westminster parliamentary system, John said this same thought process could apply to Trudeau's decision.
“That U.K. precedent sounds very strong,” Ezra replied. The approach, the JCCF president said, saw an argument presented “that the advice Boris Johnson gave to the Queen was unlawful.”
In the JCCF's lawsuit, John said:
We're not going to try to go after the Governor General and we're not going to try to argue that she should have disregarded the advice of the prime minister and she should have told the prime minister to go in the lake. We're leaving that alone.
We're saying that the advice that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave to the Governor General was unlawful advice. And that is kind of our legal tactic, that's what happened five years ago in the United Kingdom.
“With that British precedent, I'm suddenly filled with a little hope,” responded Ezra.
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COMMENTS
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Bernhard Jatzeck commented 2025-01-15 20:45:41 -0500One can call the Office of the Governor General using a toll-free telephone number. I did a few days ago and expressed my concern to the receptionist that Parliament should be back in session for the good of the country. -
Bruce Atchison commented 2025-01-15 20:08:53 -0500I hope the court can overturn the prorogation of Parliament. Trudeau is using it for his own political purposes, not the good of the country.
