On January 6, 2025, in the face of declarations from opposition parties that they would bring down the government and trigger an election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau requested that the Governor General of Canada prorogue Parliament. This is the latest in a number of controversial prorogations over the past two decades. In response, two individuals have challenged this decision, relying on a court case from the UK that found a decision to prorogue in the middle of Brexit was unreasonable.  

BCCLA has intervened in this case to argue that the constitutional principle of the separation of powers suggests that the Prime Minister cannot request prorogation where that would unduly interfere with the function of the legislature. This requirement would ensure that the prorogation power is not used to avoid accountability to Parliament, while allowing courts to stay out of the political fray.  

We are concerned that the prorogation power has become a political tool used by governments to avoid accountability. Prorogation should not be used to avoid public debate about political scandals, or accountability at the polls. In 2009, prorogation interfered with legislative and committee work regarding the torture of Afghan detainees. Since then, we have seen similar abuses of prorogation by federal and provincial governments. BCCLA will urge the court to place some guardrails on this power.