The 2008 Canadian parliamentary dispute is an ongoing political dispute in the 40th Canadian Parliament. At stake is the possible defeat of the Conservative minority government (comprising the 28th Canadian Ministry), appointed on October 14, 2008, and its replacement by a Liberal Party-New Democratic Party coalition government with support from the Bloc Québécois on confidence issues. On December 4, 2008, Governor General Michaëlle Jean (the vice-regal representative of Queen Elizabeth II, the head of state) granted the request of Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper (the head of government) to prorogue parliament until January 26, 2009, thereby staving off the prospect of a possible change in government…
Canada is one of many nations that uses the Westminster system of government, a democratic parliamentary system modelled after the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The most recent major constitutional crisis in a country using the Westminster system of government was in Australia in 1975, when Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr. It had been described as the greatest political and constitutional crisis in Australia’s history, and bore similarities to the Canadian situation in 2008.
Watch this space.
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