A democratic watchdog is pondering a legal challenge against the proroguing of Parliament and insists legislation to protect whistleblowers and bar foreign interference must be passed before the next election.On January 6, the governor general accepted a request from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to prorogue Parliament until March 24. But earlier that morning, Democracy Watch (DWatch) had announced in a press release they would challenge prorogation if it was done for bogus reasons."Democracy Watch...will challenge in court any request by the Prime Minister that the Governor General prorogue (shut down) Parliament if the prorogation is clearly in the Liberal Party’s self-interest, and happens at a time when the opposition parties are clearly going to vote non-confidence in the government," the organization said in a press release.The watchdog group said its challenge would be based on rulings won by DWatch in its past court cases challenging snap election calls, and the UK Supreme Court’s unanimous 2019 ruling that it was illegal for then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson to prorogue Parliament for no justifiable reason when a majority of MPs wanted Parliament to stay open and operating.On the afternoon of January 7, DWatch co-founder Duff Conacher said his organization is still pondering court action."I am discussing with lawyers and our board and advisors and will be making a final decision in the next few days about whether we will pursue a court challenge of the prorogation," Conacher said.DWatch remains hopeful that progress made on anti-corruption bills will not disappear. Bill C-290 to increase federal whistleblower protection was introduced in the House in June 2022 and is at second reading in the Senate. Bill C-65, introduced in the House last March, changes the Canada Elections Act to prevent foreign interference and improve election fairness. It is currently being amended by a House committee.The Hogue Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions will issue its final report by the end of January setting out recommendations. DWatch says another bill will be needed thereafter to close "the many huge loopholes" left open by Bill C-65 and Bill C-70.These bills are among 17 not enacted by Parliament out of 79 introduced since the 2021 election. Only two of the other bills are close to being enacted (C-26 and C-27). Other outstanding bills are only at initial stages of review are C-7, C-17, C-23, C-33, C-37, C-38, C-52, C-53, C-61, C-63, C-66, C-71, C-72, C-73 and C-77.“The federal parties all worked together to enact Bill C-70 in five weeks last spring, and there is no good reason why, before... the next federal election happens, they can’t work together to pass bills to strengthen whistleblower protection and close all the loopholes that allow for secret, unethical, and undemocratic foreign interference in Canadian politics,” said Duff Conacher, Co-founder of DWatch. “Any party that prevents these bills from passing into law ... will show that they are clearly more self-interested than dedicated to protecting the public interest by stopping foreign interference and ensuring fair, democratic elections, and policy-making processes and accountability for government wrongdoing," Conacher added.Conacher insists even if prorogation stands, the anti-corruption bills should still be passed before fall. He points to a page at OurCommons.ca, entitled "Prorogation and dissolution"."Bills have been reinstated by motion at the start of a new session at the same stage they had reached at the end of the previous session; committee work has similarly been revived," the page explains, pointing to two examples from the 1990s.Democracy Watch intervened in the Hogue Inquiry, and submitted 6 policy papers to the Hogue Inquiry, as well as a report on the loopholes in Bill C-70. A summary of the key changes called for is available online.A separate backgrounder summarizes the loopholes and weak enforcement problems that make foreign interference legal and easy to do across Canada at every level of government.
