SHUTTING DOWN PARLIAMENT GIVES HARPER MANY ADVANTAGES

    The Canadian system gives the Prime Minister and his cabinet the power to issue orders to the bureaucracy, make major economic decisions and spend money, but Parliament has the sole power to pass the national budget and change the criminal laws of the country.

    However, Harper's Conservative Party does not hold a majority in either the elected House of Commons or the appointed Senate. When Parliament is in session, Harper must consult with other party leaders to get legislation passed.

    As well, the Canadian system allows the opposition parties to question the Prime Minister and members of his cabinet each sitting day about government policy. This provides the opposition with a valuable platform to score partisan points.

    In the session of parliament that was ended by prorogation, on 27 of the 64 government's bills completed the legislative process. The other 37 bills may be re-started where they left off, but only if the government can get support from another opposition party.

    Among that legislation are stricter crime laws including a pornography bill aimed at illegal images of under-aged children posted on the Internet, regulation of e-commerce. Earlier this year, Harper accused opposition parties of stalling the passage of his "tough on crime" legislation and threatened to call an election if they did not let the bill pass.

    Shutting down Parliament gives the Harper government many advantages. It allows the Prime Minister to attend the Vancouver Olympics without fear of a political crisis forcing his return to Ottawa. Harper will be free to mingle with athletes and foreign dignitaries, and enjoy the positive publicity that will likely come from the games.

    As well, it gives the government time to devote its full attention to bringing order to its worsening financial situation. The 2009-2010 deficit is expected to be about 50 billion U.S. dollars, the highest in the country's history.

    The federal budget was balanced when Harper won power in 2006 but the Conservatives cut several taxes soon after they were elected and embarked on a stimulus spending program last year in an attempt to cushion the blow of the recession.

    Harper also now has time to deal with military side of the Afghanistan issue, which looms as a potential political problem. Canada's government has pledged to end its combat mission in 2011, but has been unclear about what role, if any, it will have in the country after that.

    Legislatively, the two-month break allows Harper to fill vacancies in the Senate (an appointed body modeled on Westminster's House of Lords). Early in January, there will be enough vacancies in the senior chamber to finally give his party a majority. While the Canadian Senate has few formal powers, its committees, dominated by opposition senators, have been able to slow the passage of Harper's legislation.