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With well over 10% of Torontonians out of work, it is hard to stomach when folks who do have jobs — namely MP’s in the Conservative government in Ottawa — don’t show up for work. My guess is that Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his rightwing inner circle assumed most of us wouldn’t care whether MP’s convened in January, February or perhaps ever. It is consistent with a government whose core philosophy trashes the very notion of government at every turn, and by their reckless fiscal policies have put our country into serious debt. So it is easy to see why these guys — and they are mostly guys — wouldn’t bat an eye when deciding to prorogue Parliament for the second time in 12 months.

But the rest of the country has batted much more than an eye. People are downright ticked off. The fact is that we’ve got a government that doesn’t believe in the very basis of government itself — accountability! How messed up is that? And if you don’t believe in accountable government, then it isn’t a big stretch to go ahead and shut down Parliament whenever it becomes too bothersome, too prying or too demanding of transparency and leadership. That is why it is so important for people to show up on January 23rd at the anti-prorogation rally at Dundas Square at 1pm. We need to speak out loudly on that day so Stephen Harper and the Conservatives hear that the citizens of Toronto are not as cynical and disengaged as they thought, that we care about democracy, about Parliament, and about responsible, engaged and effective government.

Canadian parliamentary democracy is a precious thing but we’ve got a government that is only too happy to play games with it, to stifle and subvert it. You know, I hear people say “well sure, but the Liberals under Chretien prorogued Parliament too.” Well, it was wrong then and it is wrong now. Besides, I thought Harper was going to be different, more transparent, more democratic. Nope. Harper has broken his own fixed date election legislation, has refused Parliament’s request for Afghan detainee transfer documents, and has coached his MP’s on how to disrupt and subvert parliamentary committees. This guy doesn’t want government to work.

But the rest of us do. Look, I know most of us are busy just trying to get by — trying to cobble a living together in this town, trying to pay the bills, go to school, find a job, raise kids, look after an elderly relative. The thing is, the kind of government we have in Ottawa directly effects all these issues and struggles we deal with in our daily lives. That is why it is important to try to make the time to come on down to Dundas Square on Saturday January 23 at 1pm.

By our numbers let’s send our government a message that if it doesn’t really want the job there are others who do!

Image courtesy of fifth_business (http://www.flickr.com/photos/fifth_business/4305436012/)