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Thousands take to the streets across Canada and beyond in the coldest part of the Canadian winter to protest the prime minister's autocratic and partisan closure of Parliament.
Ottawa (24 Jan. 2010) - Thousands of Canadians turned out on Saturday – in the coldest part of the winter - to send Prime Minister Stephen Harper a message about his arrogant decision to shut down Parliament for partisan purposes and bring the public business of the country to a halt.
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| Protesters at Toronto Rally |
More than 3,500 people, including Opposition Leader Michael Ignatieff and NDP Leader Jack Layton, attended a boisterous rally on Parliament Hill in Ottawa while more than 7,000 people demonstrated in downtown Toronto.
The Toronto rally was the biggest of more than 60 protest events held despite sub-zero weather in towns and cities across Canada. • YouTube Video
BQ Leader Gilles Duceppe was among several hundred people who gathered in downtown Montreal. Halifax, Saskatoon, Regina and Edmonton had similar enthusiastic rallies, and more than 500 turned out in downtown Vancouver. Demonstrations were also held in London, England, and several American cities.
Among those attending in many communities were members of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) and its Components across Canada. Activists from the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE) contributed to the success of the Toronto rally.
MPs were originally scheduled to resume work on Jan. 25.
'What a day!'
"What a day! Congratulations Canada," said a headline posted on the No Prorogue website that – along with a FaceBook site where more than 200,000 Canadians signed up – helped coordinate the rallies. "You showed that we are paying attention and that we do care."
In Ottawa, Ignatieff praised demonstrators for sending such a strong message to Harper and his minority Conservative government. Despite prorogation, Liberal MPs will return to Ottawa on Monday, he said.
"This is a demonstration that shows that Canadians understand their democracy, care for their democracy, and if necessary will fight for their democracy," Ignatieff added. "This demonstration does not belong to the politicians of any party, it belongs to the Canadian people."
Layton told the Ottawa rally that Canada needs a new law to limit the power of any prime minister to arbitrarily prorogue Parliament. It was the second straight year that Harper has closed Parliament in Canada for partisan reasons.
He also shut down the House of Commons and the Senate a year ago to prevent opposition parties from taking a non-confidence vote that threatened to topple him from office. Because of prorogation, MPs will not be back at work in Ottawa until March.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE