Harper and the Senate - or - The Principles of an Amoeba
Assuming that this story in the Ottawa Citizenis correct, Stephen Harper is set to appoint 18 Senators before Christmas. This is precisely the sort of act that those opposed to proroguing Parliament had feared.
It's also, in case you're keeping score, yet another instance of Harper being willing to completely ignore his stated political principles. Proroguing Parliament meant that his bill to change the Senate died on the order paper. So... rather than attempting to change the way Senators are appointed and limit their terms, he'll just appoint a large new bunch the old-fashioned way, and during a period where the confidence of the House of Commons in his government is in doubt.
Will anyone care? Probably not enough...
Labels: Senate, Stephen Harper
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posted by Matt @ 7:21 am
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4 Comments:
Oh! Oh! I care! Me me me!
:waves hand in the air
Do I care? I read this blog so that you will tell me where I stand on issues like this...
I care very much, as my sole back-up career plan is the noble Red Chamber...
Absolutely, people will care. If not, they should.
Stephen Harper campaigned long and hard for an elected Senate -- and for good reason, too. But it isn't right to simply give up on that now because it looks like he might lose power.
Then again, allowing the Coalition to stack the Senate should they come to power isn't preferable by any means.
It is something of a catch-22 situation. But that doesn't mean that Harper shouldn't be taken to task for abandoning his principles.
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