The opposition House leaders are warning Prime Minister Stephen Harper that he shouldn't take their cooperation for granted in the next session and say his government has "soured" the atmosphere in the Commons by proroguing Parliament. "It will be quite tense," said NDP House Leader Libby Davies (Vancouver East, B.C.) of her expectations for the resumption of Parliament, March 3. The NDP extended an offer to the government to restart all of the 36 bills that died on the order paper when Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) prorogued Parliament on Dec. 30, if he agreed to reverse his decision and bring Parliament back when it was scheduled to resume, Jan. 25. In order for a bill to be restarted from where it left off it requires the unanimous consent of the House, and Ms. Davies said Mr. Harper shouldn't count on their help in getting his government's legislation through.

Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, who is pushing the government's tough on crime agenda and plans to revive the bill on mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes in the next Parliamentary session, did not support the proposed law when he was a Mulroney backbencher. In 1988, Mr. Nicholson vice-chaired a Parliamentary committee that released a report recommending mandatory minimum sentences not be used, except in the case of repeat violent sexual offenders. The committee found, based on testimony and the U.S. experience, that the law didn't work and increases prison populations….NDP MP Libby Davies (Vancouver East, B.C.), whose party voted against Bill C-15, said Mr. Nicholson's zest for introducing mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes is purely political.

The Liberals and the NDP are working together to change the rules on Parliamentary prorogation, but Minister of State for Democratic Reform Steven Fletcher says prorogation "enhances" the ability of the government to do its job, and most Canadians don't care about this "inside baseball" controversy. Last week the Liberal and NDP House leaders and democratic reform critics met in Grit House Leader Ralph Goodale's (Wascana, Sask.) office to discuss plans to either table legislation, or change the Standing Orders in the House of Commons to limit the Prime Minister's ability to prorogue Parliament. Also in attendance were Liberal democratic reform critic Marlene Jennings (Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Lachine, Que.), her NDP counterpart David Christopherson (Hamilton Centre, Ont.), and NDP House Leader Libby Davies (Vancouver East, B.C.).