OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper is offering a new wrinkle on his reasons for suspending Parliament -- the government can do more important work without MPs sitting in the Commons.
In an interview with Business News Network, the prime minister flatly rejected the notion that proroguing Parliament has left the country open to criticism it is not a stable democracy.
In fact, it is Parliament in a minority situation that is perceived by markets as unstable, said Harper.
"The games begin when Parliament returns," he explained. "The government can take our time now to do the important work to prepare the economic agenda ahead.
"That said, as soon as Parliament comes back . . . the first thing that happens is a vote of confidence and there'll be votes of confidence and election speculation for every single week after that for the rest of the year. That's the kind of instability markets are actually worried about."
The argument opens a new front in the rationale the Conservative government has provided for the controversial pre-New Year's decision to suspend Parliament until March 3, even though doing so kills a number of bills the government had been eager to pass.
Harper had previously cited a need to recalibrate the government's agenda as the economy moves from recession into recovery.
Harper repeated that argument Monday, but is now adding the instability of a minority government and the ability to avoid "the games" of Parliament as additional talking points.
The controversial decision has been criticized by commentators and newspaper editorials, and even drew a sharp rebuke from the respected British newsmagazine The Economist. It accused Harper of stopping inquiries into allegations of torture of Afghan prisoners and suggested he was guilty of "naked self interest."
Parliament had been set to return Jan. 25 but instead will remain dark until after the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, returning Mar. 3.
Recent polls have also suggested that Conservative party standing in public opinion has dropped a few percentage points since the announcement.
In the interview, Harper said the government will not be introducing major new spending programs in the Mar. 4 budget because the economy has stabilized and will likely grow going forward.
As such, he said the government's $46-billion stimulus package will be phased out on schedule at the end of the next fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2011.
"We are not today looking at a second stimulus package," he said.
"We are looking at recalibrating, making some decisions on the existing stimulus package, but we are thinking beyond that -- the exit strategies and the next economic agenda."
Harper said the government is examining what measures are needed to grow the economy and create employment without massive infusions of public cash.
Although the stimulus spending, and lower revenues caused by the recession, has caused the government to fall into record deficits -- $56 billion this year alone -- Harper said he is not worried Ottawa is creating a structural deficit.
He said if the economy continues to grow and the government does what it has pledged to do in ending the stimulus and controlling spending, "the possibility today of getting in a debt-interest payment trap is in my judgement not high."
Nor he is overly concerned with deficits in the U.S., which by his estimate are four times higher than Canada's. Harper said the U.S. economy is extremely resilient and that international markets will likely continue to lend it the money it needs to finance debt.
Harper expressed some disappointment the economy has not recovered as strongly as it might have, particularly on the employment front. He blamed low international demand for Canadian exports and the strength of the Canadian dollar, which has made Canadian goods less competitive, for dampening growth.
