This letter to the editor from Frank Valeriote appeared in the January 9th edition of the Guelph Mercury.

Stephen Harper's recent decision to suspend Parliament is about one thing- the prime minister avoiding accountability and scrutiny by Canada's elected federal representatives. Harper has done so at a time when he is facing hard questions about his government's botched Afghan detainee policy and subsequent scandal, his handling of the economy, his obstructionist stance at the Copenhagen Climate Summit, and his spiteful decision to cut funding from Canadian non-governmental organizations critical of government policy on climate change and international human rights.

In his letter to this newspaper, Conservative candidate Marty Burke defends Harper, and argues Parliament had to be suspended due to the Official Opposition "stonewalling" and "filibustering" Conservative legislation. This is false. Legitimate debate by members of Parliament on issues important to Canadians is resented, mischaracterized and slandered by Harper's Conservatives, and speaks volumes about their attitude toward the checks and balances of our parliamentary democracy.

Burke also points to former Liberal prime minister Jean Chretien's prorogation in 2003 as an excuse for Harper's actions. Let me be clear - the issue at hand is not whether prime ministers possess the power to prorogue Parliament, but that Harper has systematically abused this power to avoid being held accountable for his government's decisions. Harper's current 63-day shutdown of parliamentary activity brings his total to 148 prorogued days over just four years in office, completely eclipsing Jean Chretien's 145 days over 10 full years.

What does this mean for our democracy? In suspending Parliament, Harper will not answer to the House of Commons in question period for three full months. All committees are disbanded. This manoeuvre, of course, also ended the work of the special committee on Afghanistan (which Conservative MPs failed to attend for its last two meetings) and further obstructs Parliament's successful motion that the government release uncensored documents concerning the transfer of Afghan detainees.

In short, Harper first ignored the expressed will of Parliament and then closed its doors to Canada's elected representatives.

Burke also cites an example of the Canadian Senate delaying a single government bill and concludes this forms the basis for Parliament's urgent and total suspension. This line of argument is absurd and impossible to reconcile with the fact that by suspending Parliament, 35 government bills were killed outright, including those seeking tougher sentencing for white collar crimes and child pornography. If Harper's legislative agenda was so important to him, he would work with Opposition members instead of shutting Parliament's doors.

Unfortunately, Harper's recent cynicisms are only the latest of a long list of abuses directed to any institution or person critical of his actions. This includes suing Elections Canada, firing the head of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, firing the heads of the RCMP's public complaints commission and the military police complaints commission, and attacking the reputation of courageous whistleblowers in the public service like Richard Colvin - all for simply doing their jobs. Harper has systematically intimidated and cut funding from organizations critical of Conservative policy - from charitable groups such as KAIROS, to the parliamentary budget officer for preferring fact over the fiction found in this government's economic estimates.

When extolling the virtues of Canada's economic action plan, I would remind Burke that at this time last year Canada was enduring a divisive constitutional crisis provoked by Harper - the last time he suspended Parliament after facing the threat of a non-confidence vote from the Opposition for failing to offer any plan at all.

I was elected to the House of Commons by the people of Guelph to help find solutions to the problems that our country faces, and I take that mandate very seriously. Shutting down Parliament means that our country's elected representatives aren't enacting solutions that would create jobs to help the over 400,000 Canadians who became unemployed last year, and the 20 per cent of Canadian youth who can't find work. It means our MPs are not legislating solutions to protect pensions, improve retirement savings for the future, and that we are not taking substantive actions to address climate change and many other issues.

Canadians expect more of their political leadership than these kinds of games, and they deserve it. My parliamentary caucus will continue to press for accountability and responsibility. On Jan. 25, when Parliament should have resumed, I will be back at work in Ottawa with other Liberal MPs giving voice to the issues Canadians care about. That week, we will host working sessions on a series of issues, working with Canadians as we build up to our "Canada at 150" conference in March. And when parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page releases his planned reports on government spending and the deficit, we'll be ready to receive them even if the Conservatives are not.

P.S. Burke is correct in noting that private members bills will resume where they left off, and I appreciate him acknowledging the merit of my own bill.

Frank Valeriote is the Liberal member of Parliament for Guelph.