Professor Peter Hogg delivers lecture on prorogation and the powers of the Governor General
On
January 14th constitutional expert, Peter Hogg, spoke at the UNB law
school about prorogation and the powers of the Governor General. This public event was well attended by
students and faculty members from several university departments as well as
members of the Fredericton community.
In his speech, Professor Hogg described in detail the circumstances which led to the prorogation in December, 2008. Since that prorogation commentators have been trying to determine the extent to which a Governor General has discretion to accept or reject the advice of a sitting Prime Minister. His comments were focused on answering two questions. First, did the Governor General have the discretion to decline the Prime Minister's advice for prorogation? Second, if she had discretion, did she exercise it wisely?
After carefully considering different points of view, Professor Hogg argued that a Governor General has discretion to reject a Prime Minister's advice when the Prime Minister has either actually lost the confidence of the House of Commons or where such a loss in confidence is known to be imminent. In other words, the Governor General did have the discretion to reject the Prime Minister's request for prorogation in December, 2008. Professor Hogg also argued that based on the circumstances at that time, the Governor General exercised her discretion wisely by accepting the Prime Minister's request. The effect of the prorogation was to delay the opposition's opportunity to formally express its lack of confidence in the government, which did not occur.
Professor Hogg also made a few brief comments about the most recent prorogation by explaining that the Governor General was not at liberty to decline the advice of the Prime Minister in December, 2009 since he enjoyed the confidence of the House of Commons at that time. After his speech, Professor Hogg took the time to answer many questions from audience members.
Peter Hogg
Professor Hogg is the leading constitutional law scholar in Canada. He has authored many publications, including the only comprehensive treatise, namely, Constitutional Law of Canada (Carswell, 5th ed., 2007). He is also the author of Liability of the Crown (Carswell, 3rd ed., 2000, with Patrick J. Monahan).
Professor Hogg's writings have been frequently cited by the Supreme Court of Canada. A study of the Supreme Court's citations that was published in the Dalhousie Law Journal in 1993 found that Professor Hogg's writings had been cited more than twice as frequently as any other single source. Since that study was published, the frequency of citation has continued.
Educated at the University of New Zealand and Harvard Law School, Professor Hogg practised briefly in New Zealand, and taught in New Zealand and Australia. He came to Canada in 1970, when he became a professor at Osgoode Hall Law School until 1998. He served as dean of the Law School from 1998-2003. He currently serves as a Professor Emeritus at Osgoode Hall, and is a Scholar in Residence at Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP.
Professor Hogg has appeared as counsel in a number of constitutional cases, including 13 cases in the Supreme Court of Canada. He has received numerous special honours, including designation as Queens Council, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Officer of the Order of Canada, and Companion of the Order of Canada. He has won many awards, and has been granted 4 LL.D's.
