Didn't you think Canada was a sovereign nation?

I did, until I heard about this.


CNN, via Truthout:

Canadian Leader Suspends Parliament to Stay in Power

Thursday 04 December 2008

by: CNN.com

Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper suspended the Canadian Parliament to prevent a no-confidence vote.
(Photo: Reuters)

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday that Canada's governor general has allowed him to suspend Parliament, postponing a no-confidence vote from his opponents that he was likely to lose.

Harper called on his opponents to work with his government on measures to aid the nation's economy when Parliament returns on January 26.

"The first order of business will be the presentation of a federal budget," Harper told reporters outside the governor general's residence in Ottawa, Canada.

"Those who were elected here to serve the interest of Canada as a whole should work together - at least to some degree - on planning an economic plan for Canada."

Had Governor General Michaelle Jean - who represents Britain's Queen Elizabeth II as head of state - denied Harper's request, Monday's vote would have likely brought down Harper's government, less than two months after his Conservative Party strengthened its minority position in federal elections.

[. . .]

Did you get that? Britain's Queen's Representative, at Harper's request, allowed him to disbanded the parliament until January 26 of next year. Am I reading this right?