OTTAWA  For the second time in just over a year, Prime Minister Stephen Harper temporarily shut down Parliament on Wednesday, evoking accusations from opposition politicians that he was abusing parliamentary tradition for political gain.

The move to end the current session of Parliament before starting a new one in March is not routine. Normally, governments take such a step only after several years in power to reset Parliament’s legislative agenda, often as a prelude to an election.

The shutdown killed all legislation making its way through the parliamentary process, including bills championed by Mr. Harper’s Conservative government.

It also shut down all parliamentary committees, including a special one that was raising embarrassing questions about the government’s policies on Afghans detained by Canadian troops before being turned over to the Afghan government. Human rights groups and a Canadian diplomat say the detainees were abused after being handed to the Afghans. Mr. Harper’s government denies the allegations.