Are we still a colony?

It isn’t over yet. The Harper government’s unfathomable fumble — the fiscal update fiasco — has wreaked much havoc. But more is to come.

At the moment the prorogation of Parliament happened, it looked like the Governor General and the prime minister would get a pass. The country was awash in indignation over the prospect of the Bloc Québécois being part of a new coalition government. Stephen Harper, the prime minister who granted Quebec nation status, was nevertheless able to do a brilliant job of demonizing the Bloc and framing the debate around the separatist issue.

But now that the dust is settling, a settling of accounts could be in store.

Recall what happened. In a closed-door meeting, the Governor General, at the behest of the prime minister, shut down Parliament to save him from a confidence vote and the certain defeat of his government.

It’s what’s known as democracy Canadian-style. Writing from Paris in The Ottawa Citizen, Keith Spicer summed up the charade as “Zimbabwe Run By The Queen.” Abroad, he said, Canada is being mocked as a colony. In the Globe and Mail, Peter C. Newman called it “our recent test run as a banana republic.” On the CBC, Allan Gregg invoked the Robert Mugabe comparison.

They and many others wonder something. How could a decision as critical as this one be made by a Queen’s representative with no public accountability whatsoever? Who was in the room? What kind of pressure did Harper bring to bear? What about the suggestion that advisers for each side had basically agreed on the outcome before Harper even entered Rideau Hall that day?

As for Michaëlle Jean, she and her Monarchic ways are taking a hit. She may have made the right call on prorogation. But is she too regal to come forward and speak to her subjects about it? Are we not beyond century No. 17?

In short order, after the coming budget, she could well be making another decision of equal magnitude for the country. Her office shouldn’t be allowed to treat us like a bunch of patsies bowing at the feet of her closed-door proclamations.