Speech (House debate)

This is a single speech (house debate) resource from the openparliament.ca API. If you’re new here, you might want to look at the documentation. If API and JSON are gibberish to you, you’re better off at our main site.

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{
    "time": "2004-04-27 16:05:00",
    "attribution": {
        "en": "Mr. Ken Epp (Elk Island, CPC)",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "content": {
        "en": "<p>Mr. Speaker, the irrelevant part of the member's statement across the way had to do with the Governor General. As a matter of fact, it is the Governor General who has the only legal power to dissolve Parliament for the purpose of an election. That is the way our Constitution reads right now.</p>\n<p>I suppose it begs the question, but the real issue here is that the Prime Minister is the one who gives the Governor General the signal. That has become the convention. Under the pattern of responsible government, it is still up to the Prime Minister on the governing side to make the decision. The Governor General has not, I think in error, refused the dissolution of Parliament on the last two occasions because in each instance the government had a clear majority. The government has a clear majority now. There is no reason for an election. Legally, the Governor General could stop it, but the Prime Minister alone has the prerogative. That is wrong.</p>",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "url": "/debates/2004/4/27/ken-epp-4/",
    "politician_url": "/politicians/99/",
    "politician_membership_url": "/politicians/memberships/1559/",
    "procedural": false,
    "source_id": "",
    "h1": {
        "en": "Government Orders",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "h2": {
        "en": "Supply",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "document_url": "/debates/2004/4/27/",
    "related": {
        "document_speeches_url": "/speeches/?document=%2Fdebates%2F2004%2F4%2F27%2F"
    }
}