Parliamentary Prorogue and Ottawa Transit Strike
When Parliament Locked Down, Bus Strike Stretches to 51 Days
The so-called political crisis that took place late 2008, when Parliament’s Opposition finally developed a backbone to take on Stephen Harper’s minority government ended in a Parliamentary prorogue, the only purpose for which was allegedly to save Harper’s government and Harper’s job as Prime Minister.
Shortly before the so-called political crisis, OC Transpo, Ottawa’s transit system’s workers, went on strike, stranding potentially hundreds of thousands of people, but primarily the vulnerable. OC Transpo is under the jurisdiction of the federal government because part of its system traverses over to the Quebec side of the border, making it beyond provincial responsibility.
As stranded commuters took to the streets to protest the strike and the Parliamentary prorogue continued, thousands looked helplessly to Dalton McGuinty’s government, who were powerless to negotiate or force the transit service back to work. During the strike, commuters with common employers or drivers in various neighbourhoods organized carpools to ensure most people were still able to get to work. However, some people did lose jobs because they were unable to get a ride.
As such, for people with disabilities, retired persons, students, self-employed persons and others without transportation of their own, were left to scramble for transportation, often spending hundreds of dollars a month on cab fare. Others became prisoners in their own homes, unable to get to work, school or even to visit friends. As Parliament dithered with prorogue, the very vulnerable they came back in late January to vow to protect were left without protection, resources or support.
With a Parliamentary lock-down so tight, the Prime Minister was afraid to open the House for even a few hours to debate the back-to-work legislation that badly needed to be crafted to put the buses, railcars and subways back on the road. At the height of the so-called Parliamentary crisis, the rule of government was at risk. Priorities were once again set in the absence of the voice of the vulnerable.
It turned out the months of December 2008 and January 2009 were among the coldest, harshest of winter days we ever had in recent memory. Stories covered in the news included students who spent their entire month’s budget on taxi fare to stay in school, people losing their jobs because they were unable to get to work and persons with disabilities unable to access basic medical care.
Finally, as the ice began to thaw at the end of January, a Throne Speech read by the Governor General (but written by the Prime Minister) promised to help the vulnerable and others who were deeply affected by what appears to be a global recession. The next day, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, new shoes and all, read his budget …
It was only until the day after when Conservative MP Rona Ambrose began to take steps to pass back-to-work legislation for OC Transpo workers. While relief was palpable, the return to work after fifty-one days will be very gradual, while riders can expect at best all services to resume full operations by April or even May at the latest.
If Parliament was truly interested in helping the vulnerable, it would have ensured this issue was dealt with before Stephen Harper had to play partisan politics in his own Parliament to avoid the inevitable non-confidence vote. Perhaps, if partisan politics were not the order of the day in November, it is quite possible this strike would have lasted only a short period of time.
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