Canada Accuses Venezuela of Stifling Democracy While Parliament Remains Prorogued

[tuvor]

...

Kent made further accusations, claiming that President Hugo Chávez “has a history of concentrating power in the executive.” Kent’s hypocrisy knows no bounds! At the same time as he made this claim, Kent’s Conservative government has prorogued Parliament for the third time in as many years. Last year, the Conservatives suspended Parliament to prevent a Liberal-NDP coalition from coming to power. This year, the Tory government needed to suspend Parliament to prevent further details from coming out on how the Canadian mission in Afghanistan was responsible in the torture of innocent people there. In the past couple of weeks, tens of thousands of ordinary Canadians have come out to protest the shrinking democratic space in Canada. We can only imagine the outcry from Stephen Harper or Peter Kent if Chávez shut down the Venezuelan national assembly in the face of a non-confidence vote.

In terms of the media, where has the Tories’ indignation been in the selective barring of certain channels in Canada? The Canadian government has played a proactive role in preventing Al-Jazeera from gaining a license to broadcast in Canada. The current government is known for rarely giving open press conferences and for pre-selecting what questions can be asked by reporters.

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http://www.handsoffvenezuela.org/canada_accuses_venezuela_of_stifling_democracy.htm

[BolivarianHero]

1. I bet Pelosi would side with Harper...

Glad you guys have her.