There is more than meets the eye in the federal government’s decision to prorogue Parliament until March 3.

Some “rogue” Liberal-appointed senators have unnecessarily tampered with government legislation passed in the House of Commons. They have tried to hinder bills that have received majority consent of elected M.P.s, which falls far beyond the mandate of the unelected senators. Our government had to use prorogation to protect the integrity of the legislation passed by members of Parliament.

As seats open up in the Senate this winter, Prime Minister Stephen Harper can appoint new Senators to furnish a Conservative plurality in the red chamber. Prorogation or an election is required to reconstitute Senate committees, so they will soon be weighted to reflect our plurality with more senators than the Liberals. For the first time in many years, our government and private members’ bills will be fairly adjudicated and returned to the House with helpful amendments, instead of hitting a political stone wall.

Unelected Senators should not be able to handcuff members of Parliament. Ironically, even their own Liberal leader seems unable to manage this group of Senate freelancers. The Liberal senators have used their influence to insult the parliamentary process. In effect, they induced prorogation by ignoring the majority of the House. This situation provides a clear argument for the Senate reform that our party has promoted for many years.

We’re going to use our time wisely. This government will be introducing a Speech from the Throne on March 3 and a federal budget on March 4 to continue Canada’s economic recovery.

Compared with most of the world, we are emerging relatively unscathed by the recession. Watch for the upcoming budget to bring us closer to prosperity and reduce the deficit that helped to provide most Canadians with a soft landing for the past couple of years.

Prorogation no longer means that government and private members’ bills must die on the order paper. Private Members’ Bill C-391 to scrap the gun registry, for example, will emerge intact and be debated before the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security. We will seek opposition compliance to reintroduce government legislation that is already on the books.

It is important to remember that M.P.s are on the job even when Parliament is not in session. I for one, don’t need the bright lights of Question Period to fulfill my mandate. Prorogation has no effect on my daily efforts to ensure my constituents are being well served and properly represented at the federal level.

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