I did a post last week asking Albertans if they have had enough of Stephen Harper yet. If the content of that post did not convince you this rant by Rick Mercer should help. Canadians as well as Albertans know it is time for an election and that we have to remove our Not So Prime Minister and his Sheeple from power over us.
The Harper Conservatives now control the Senate due to his hypocritical stance about Senate reform. He used to say it should be Triple E: elected, equal and effective. He has personally appointed more Senators than any other Prime Minister in history. So much for the integrity, honesty, transparency and accountability of Prime Minister Harper.
Since he can't control the destruction of democracy in the elected House of Commons as he centralizes more and more political power in himself, he is now doing it in the Senate. That is where his personal appointed political friends are killing laws duly passed by those WE DULY ELECTED TO GOVERN US. The Harper Senate appointees have a majority now and they are killing those duly passed laws without a word of debate. Political power is now in the hand of Harper's appointed cronies. This can't continue if our representative democracy is to survive.
so Ken: You would suggest that the Senate - you know - the one you supported when the Libs were in power that the Libs wouldn't reform into Triple E - is now horrible because Conservatives are in control? Did the Libs and you not see that coming? And only NOW you are outraged?
ReplyDeleteBogus outrage Ken.
Hate to let the facts get in the way of a good story Ken, but Harper has made it clear he will appoint duly elected senators as soon as the provinces hold elections to choose them. What would you have him do in the meanwhile? It's pretty obviously partisan if you think he should juts let the chamber sit half empty.
ReplyDeleteGraham: it doesn't matter what Ken Chapman thinks of the senate. What matters is that Harper said he would never do what he's doing, use the "undemocratic" senate for his own ends.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: it doesn't matter if the provinces elect their senators, allowing Harper to select those chosen, or ignore them if they're liberals. Until Harper has the courage to address the constitution, senate reform is meaningless because the final choice will rest with the government of the day.
Ken, while I like the idea of an elected senate, I fear it becoming more the American version of elected senators -- a bunch of self-serving, dishonourable power-brokers. While ours isn't purely democratic, at least our senators can't sell out to lobbyists without actually being unseemly, and (until this year) our senators were not the muffled voice of the governing party. In the end, the senate doesn't need to change; Harper does.
The problem with Harper's Senate reform proposal is that as PM, he would still be appointing the senators. There is no rule that he must recommend an appointment to the governor-general right away. Imagine 12 "elected" Liberal senators from Ontario. I'm sure Harper would take his time in getting on the phone to make his recommendations. Harper's appointment process includes sham elections. If Harper were serious about Senate reform, he would be consulting with the provinces rather than try to impose his own half-baked solution.
ReplyDeleteI looked at bill S-8 (An Act respecting the selection of senators).
ReplyDeleteFirst, senators will not be elected, but selected.
Second, under the current Constitution Act, 1867, the Governor-General does not seek advice formally from the prime minister. Strangely enough, the PM has no distinct status in the constitution. Executive power comes from the Queen through the Governor-General. When S-8 bill states that the PM must consider, what do the words "must consider" actually mean. Must the PM tell the GG to appoint particular Senate nominees? Besides, the GG does not formally follow the instructions from the PM as the PM does not exist in our constitution.
If I were Harper, and I did not like the "elected" choices from Ontario, I would "consider" these choices, then tell John Baird to go see the GG to recommend Harper's Conservative choices.
Unless I missed something, I did not notice who had the right to vote for Senators. There is nothing stated that citizens of a province or territory have the right to vote for the senators. A legislature could select all of the senators so long as it followed all the rules of S-8. However, the PM would still be able to "consider" the provincially recommended nominees and offer his advice to the GG.
I do feel sorry for ardent advocates for an elected Senate. Harper's proposal is just a selected charade. The PM will still consider his recommendations to the GG for the appointment of senators. Nothing will change except for a new veneer of Senate reform.