I had a very spirited discussion early this afternoon with the constituency assistant working in my Harper M.P.’s office. I called to ask her to convey my disdain for the Fair Elections Act and the plethora of other contempt-for-democracy activities the Conservatives are involved in; warning me about getting my
Continue readingTag: Justin Trudeau
LeDaro: Justin Trudeau’s Senate Move… a great political move or amateurish
Harper has been mired in embarrassing scandals concerning his Senators, from Wallin to Duffy to Brazeau. Justin Trudeau has responded with a move that some have called “bold” and “game-changing” by kicking all Liberal Senators out of caucus. I don’t think it’s “bold” or “game-changing” and it does not show
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Small changes may signal glimmer of awareness of trouble ahead among rank and file Tory MLAs
Members of Alison Redford’s brain trust plan the latest hashtags in the Twitter war with AUPE … No! Wait! That’s Bob MacNamara telling LBJ about his plans for the war in Vietnam! What the hey? Below: That rude info-graphic; Red House Chief of Staff Farouk Adatia; White House Chief of
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Farewell Liberalberta? Alberta Liberals back in the red
Tweet Less than two years after adopting a new green and grey Liberalberta logo, the Alberta Liberal Party appears to have switched back to the party’s traditional red. A new website design launched last week shows the Liberals have also dropped the “-berta” portion of the logo, returning to plain ‘Liberal‘ name. The
Continue readingCuriosityCat: The Senate: Will Mulcair’s rabbits and doves flee in all directions as Mulroney’s did?
Constitutional twins? Thomas Mulcair gives the impression that he relishes the views of some of him as a tough guy. In Question Period, faced with a cornered Prime Minister Harper who has to appear (sometimes) and answer questions (even if with non-answers), Mulcair is the diligent, remorseless, forceful, and effective
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: A brilliant tactical move: Justin Trudeau kicks out Liberal Senators
Sometimes you have to give credit where credit is due: Justin Trudeau just pulled a brilliant tactical move with his unexpected and unceremonious dumping of all former Liberal Senators from the Liberal caucus. As a political analyst, I often am rather unimpressed by the blunders and lack of political acumen
Continue readingTrashy's World: Canada West Foundation…
… endorses Trudeau’s Senate move… <sound of Trashy passing out on the floor> Some “first” here: First time the words “west” “endorses” “Trudeau” have even been seen in the same sentence First time The Canada West Foundation has endorsed anything connected to the Senate – except its abolition Upon seeing
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Five ways to save the Senate of Canada
Tweet Is the Senate of Canada broken? And if so, is it worth saving? Here are the positions held by Canada’s federal political parties: 1) Abolish the Senate The New Democratic Party of Canada, the official opposition since 2011, are staunchly in favour of entirely abolishing the Senate of Canada.
Continue readingTrudeau Channels Harper on the Senate
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has made a career out of preying on Canadians’ ignorance of our democratic institutions, the Senate in particular. He did so as far back as 2010 when, in an unprecedented move, he used his Senate majority to defeat the Commons-supported Climate Change Accountability Act. He did
Continue readingLeftist Jab: Justin Trudeau’s Bold Masterstroke On Senate Issue Makes Him A Super Genius
“Well a lot of them are going to die soon, anyway.” If Justin Trudeau is able to piss further, it is by standing on the shoulders of such giants as Pericles and George Washington. In what is considered by just about every single Canadian media’s analysis a “bold move”, Justin
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Justin Trudeau’s Daring Senate Gambit
I must admit Justin Trudeau's move to boot the Liberal senators from his caucus caught me by surprise, and it is certainly a bold one. Justin Trudeau has dissolved a vital bond between senators and the Liberal Party that appointed them, expelling dozens of members of his caucus in a dramatic attempt
Continue readingA BCer in Toronto: Trudeau’s Senate play a bold stroke. But what’s next?
I think everyone was surprised by Liberal leader Justin Trudeau’s move this morning – particularly 32 Senators – that he was removing all Senators from the Liberal parliamentary caucus, and that as Prime Minister, he would only appoint Senators selected through a non-partisan review process. (Read Trudeau’s statement: Ending partisanship
Continue readingImpolitical: Liberal reformers
A few thoughts here on today’s announcement by Justin Trudeau that Liberal Senators will no longer be part of the Liberal caucus and are now to sit independently. One of Trudeau’s lines that stood out for me was this one: “At our best, Liberals are relentless reformers.” Recently, on the
Continue readingImpolitical: Liberal reformers
A few thoughts here on today’s announcement by Justin Trudeau that Liberal Senators will no longer be part of the Liberal caucus and are now to sit independently.
One of Trudeau’s lines that stood out for me was this one: “At our best, Liberals are relentless reformers.” Recently, on the death of Jim Coutts, an opinion piece he wrote in 2004 was circulated, and in it, we found this:
“The current policy markers of the Liberal party have evolved over time and are fairly familiar to many Canadians. The most crucial Liberal markers are these:
- Reform, which is so central to Liberal identity that it was the party’s name up to and during the leadership of George Brown. The marker has stood for political reform, ranging from the introduc- tion of responsible government under Baldwin and Lafontaine, to battling ruling-class power and patronage abuse at the time of Brown, Mackenzie and Blake, to entrenching a constitutional Charter of Rights under Trudeau. Since the 1920s, the Liberal reform marker has most importantly sig- nified social reform, or the cre- ation and improvement of a modern welfare state.”
Today we saw a big bout of reform in the form of a Senate that would be independent, in Trudeau’s words:
That is why I have come to believe that the Senate must be non-partisan. Composed merely of thoughtful individuals representing the varied values, perspectives and identities of this great country. Independent from any particular political brand.
Trudeau’s reform will likely come off as reasonable to many Canadians. It is not the radical abolitionist approach of the NDP which would require constitutional reform. It is not the Conservative supposed pro-reform approach that has gone nowhere for their seven years in power and that would also likely require constitutional reform.
Trudeau’s reform looks at the Senate, and proposes an approach that will not tear it down, but make fair use of a second chamber. In the Westminster system, it would be anomalous not to have a second chamber. The direction suggested, a more merit-based approach is a good one that speaks to the times. This reform, as Trudeau is suggesting, could be infused with principles of merit, competency, and transparency, to bolster the credibility of the Liberal proposals. And this Liberal would suggest ensuring that the appointment process be free from an elite-based orientation.
To be sure, there will be wrinkles to iron out. Senator Campbell spoke to some of these today: He also questioned how the Senate will function in terms of their role in scrutinizing government legislation. He questioned, for instance, who will sit on committees and who will be named critics of which bills.
Ensuring that the elected representatives’ will is carried out and without blockage, is another consideration to be grappled with. And perhaps with that consideration in mind, note Trudeau’s last line in his remarks today:
We want to build public institutions that Canadians can trust, and that serve Canadians. This requires real, positive change. These proposals are the next step in our Open Parliament plan to do just that.
They won’t be the last.
This may be a nod to the democratic reform resolution that the federal Liberal MP caucus has proposed as one of its priority resolutions to be voted upon at the upcoming February biennial policy convention in Montreal, less than a month away now. That resolution, Bolstering Canada’s Democracy, contains this operative proposal:
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT immediately after the next election, the Liberal Party of Canada institute an all-Party process, involving expert assistance and citizen participation, to report to Parliament within 12 months with analysis and recommendations for an electoral system including, without limitation, a preferential ballot and/or a form of proportional representation, to represent all Canadians more fairly and to allow Parliament to serve Canada better.
Senate reform without reform of our House of Commons would be incongruent. The above proposed resolution would be the beginning of addressing the imbalance that would result if the Senate were reformed without a similar effort being made in respect of the House of Commons. As bad as some of the practices and appointments connected to the Senate have been, the pressing need for reform lies in the House of Commons. Electoral reform to change the system in which we operate is one route. Michael Chong’s reform which accepts the system yet changes the rules is another. The good news is that reform in a big way is on the agenda for Canada.
Liberals are re-embracing reform as a mantle. All in all, a positive development today.
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: So this thing happened in the Senate today..
If anyone predicted this was going to happen today, I’m going to them to ask what numbers I should pick for the lottery: Justin Trudeau has expelled from his caucus every single Liberal member of the upper house and has declared there is no longer any such thing as a
Continue readingImpolitical: Liberal reformers
A few thoughts here on today’s announcement by Justin Trudeau that Liberal Senators will no longer be part of the Liberal caucus and are now to sit independently. One of Trudeau’s lines that stood out for me was this one: “At our best, Liberals are relentless reformers.” Recently, on the
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Liberals Lose Half Their Caucus Under Justin Trudeau’s Leadership
It’s rare that something happens in Ottawa that truly surprises everyone. Despite having spent the last year talking about the senate over and over again, it’s safe to say very few saw this coming: Trudeau leads on Senate Reform: Liberal Leader takes concrete action to remove partisanship and patronage from
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Deep thought
The Liberals, at their self-perceived best, lag many years behind the principled curve set by the NDP. (Meanwhile, who’s taking odds as to the number of formerly-Lib Senators who will be recruited by the we’ll-take-anybody Greens?)
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Big names running for federal party nominations in Alberta
TweetThere has been plenty of activity this week as candidates from all political parties put forward their names to run in Canada’s next federal election, scheduled to be held in October 2015. Wooing voters and potential candidates alike, both New Democratic Party leader Thomas Mulcair and Liberal Party leader Justin
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Neil Young, the oil sands and shifting political loyalties in Fort McMurray
TweetPundits from across the country are waxing and waning over comments made by rock n’ roll icon Neil Young about Canada’s oil sands. Mr. Young’s inarticulate criticisms of the oil sands (and comparing Fort McMurray to Hiroshima) have not helped the discussion around the impact of natural resource development in Canada, but he does
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