Is Prime Minister Stephen Harper once again playing Parliamentary games? Or are the only games happening in Vancouver next month?
Last year, he used proroguing to avert a confidence vote that threatened to dissolve the government elected six weeks earlier.
It seems few are clear exactly why he’s proroguing. There are a growing number of Facebook sites and an outpouring of angry letters to the media to show disapproval.
Some think it’s a shrewd tactic by the prime minister to delay the hearings on the Afghan detainee issues. Others suspect it is to push off an election in times of dipping polls.
As for the first theory, if there’s egg on the government’s face, it will eventually end up there anyhow. As for the latter, current polls actually favour the Tories.
A Nov. 29 EKOS poll showed the Conservatives with a 10-per-cent lead over the Liberals. In a Nanos poll three weeks later, numbers remained about the same with 34 per cent of Canadians polled stating Mr. Harper was “the most trustworthy leader” versus 11 per cent favouring the Liberals’ Michael Ignatieff. As for “the most competent leader”, it was Mr. Harper again, with 35 per cent, versus Mr. Ignatieff at about 13 per cent.
The Parliamentary break was to end Jan. 25, but has been pushed back to March 3 for a total of 22 sitting days. Some (admittedly small) legislation is now dead and some bills may have to be reintroduced, ostensibly wasting MPs’ time.
What could the Conservatives possibly do in 22 sitting days to significantly improve their standing?

What it doesn't mean is that MPs are strolling around twiddling their thumbs during the prorogue, vacationing. If they did, it would not reflect well to their constituents.
The most obvious reason to prorogue is the Winter Olympics. With Canuck news outlets stubbornly focused on Vancouver’s snowboarders, ski jumpers, hockey players — and not-so-secretly hoping for a figure skating scandal — how could any big news day in Parliament ever compete?
To be sure, many MPs wouldn’t turn down an opportunity to be seen in the bleachers, patriotically cheering on our athletes or rubbing elbows with them.
The cynical would also point to the Senate as Mr. Harper’s reason to stall the machinery of government. His plan to appoint five new Tory senators will shift power to his party. That means on March 3, there’s little chance of the Liberals stonewalling legislation. So, it’s either waste time in the House or waste time in the Senate. Harper picked the lesser of the two.
Proroguing Parliament is not an unusual tactic. Liberal prime minister Jean Chretien prorogued four times (once for four months) in 10 years.
It’s not a very good reason to dislike or criticize Mr. Harper.
But it is a good reason to wonder why so many are so angry, when there are so many reasons backing up the decision.
My guess is that all of those Facebook group members dislike Harper to begin with, dislike the Conservatives to begin with, or love to whine at the cause de jour by clicking 'join now.'