The Conservative MP for Huron-Bruce says the nation’s business will go on in Ottawa whether he and his colleagues are in the Commons or not.
Ben Lobb defends his government’s decision to suspend Parliament until early March after the Olympic Games have ended.
Lobb says the Harper government will come back with a speech from the Throne to be followed almost immediately by a new federal budget on March 4th.
Lobb says Senate reform will also be on the agenda with an eye to appointing members to the Upper Chamber and revamping Senate committees.
Some political observers interpret the move as the Harper government trying to stack the Senate with Tories.
Lobb takes issue with comments made by Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff who he says is grandstading by promising to call Grit MPs back to Parliament Hill on January 25th.
Lobb calls Igntieff’s move a stunt designed to grab media attention because only the bureaucracy still functions when Parliament is not in session.
Ignatieff says his MPs will focus on committee work between January 25th and March 3rd.
Lobb says a story in the latest issue of The Economist magazine paints an unfair picture of the Prime Minister’s decision to suspend Parliament.
Lobb says the government continues to function and says government often works better when MPs are connecting with voters in their home ridings.
The Economist characterizes the Parliamentary suspension as what it calls “naked self-interest” and says the Conservative cabinet is composed of bumblers.