Canada needs an election, not a prorogation.

Parliament can't continue under the present Liberal dysfunction, but that doesn't mean Justin Trudeau should prorogue it. An open letter to Justin Trudeau on why he should choose a different path.

Dear Prime Minister Trudeau,

You've suffered some (unsurprising) political blows this week. The main supporter of your minority government, New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh, said he would evaluate confidence motions on a case-by-case basis. Then, someone in your inner circle leaked news that your party’s campaign manager quit because he didn't feel you could win. 

Heading into the fall session of Parliament, you haven't reinspired Canadians. If the polls are to be believed, the opposite is true. Your inner circle of staff has shriveled into a desiccated shell. Your caucus is restless, and the top echelon of your cabinet is chomping at the bit to have a kick at your job. And most importantly, after a politically critical summer, life isn’t more affordable for Canadians, and the housing and crime crises continue to rage on.

So what are you to do? 

You might not be ready to admit it yet, but there’s only one viable path available to you now. Nonetheless, you’re probably considering at least three more.

Let's evaluate those three untenable paths first.

You could make Canadians suffer in limbo while you limp through another Parliamentary session by praying that Mr. Singh continues support your government until his pension vests.  You could quit as Liberal leader. Or, you could choose the coward's route: prorogue Parliament to prevent confidence votes from toppling your government for an undetermined period of time.

 Prorogation - or suspending Parliament and its committees - at this juncture in your government's tenure will erode our country's social and economic fabric. Canadians who can’t find a home or afford housing are unlikely to forgive you for suspending Parliament because of your selfish transparent fear of defeat in a general election. Given the litany of serious issues facing the country, Parliamentarians need to be able to scrutinize your government and attempt to blunt the impact of your poor choices. Now, you may view this type of accountability as a bad thing, but since your ministers and senior staff seem incapable of fending off scandal and failure, this work needs to happen to prevent the country from further falling off the rails.

But even if you can't find it in you to care about that, you must realize that the biggest political beneficiary of prorogation won't be you; it will be Mr. Singh. We both know he likely doesn't have the courage or lack of self-interest to forgo pension eligibility to defeat your government before next spring. His announcement this week was probably a stunt to quell an ornery (and increasingly fringe-leaning) caucus that is starting to question his leadership. But if you prorogue, you give Mr. Singh the gift of being able to hold onto his party leadership, vest his pension, and distance himself from you without having to get his hands dirty.

And frankly, it's probably now too late for you to quit as party leader. That’s because enough time and bad decisions have passed that even Mr. Singh, in all his present pension ineligibility, should now be hard pressed to support your government through a Liberal leadership race.

But there is a better path forward.

Last week, you had a terse exchange with an unfailingly polite Algoma steel worker who was having trouble making ends meet. In it, you suggested he could express his displeasure with your government by voting however he wanted to. 

You should make good on your word by immediately calling a general election and allowing him to do so. Because if you do want to continue to be Prime Minister at this juncture of your ineffectual minority government, you should be able to convince Canadians in a general election that it benefits them to still have you at the helm of the nation.

Besides, over a decade ago, you tried to paint yourself out to be some sort of political saviour-fighter in a (highly questionable) political boxing match. Delaying an election at this point means your leadership will be bookended with the exact opposite brand: a selfish coward who allows his fate to be determined by a man waiting for a pension, or by avoiding the public’s ire during a late-term prorogation. 

Choose wisely.

Giddyup,

The Honourable Member from Calgary Nose Hill