You would think that a bit of basic civic
literacy might be a requirement for the Minister of State for Democratic
Reform. Okay, maybe all that qualifies one in this government is the ability to
parrot talking points, but still… Case in point – Tim Uppal says that people
are unsure about a “reformed” Senate because they don’t want to see what
happens in Washington happen up here, but he wants to assure them that it won’t
happen because the powers of an “elected” Senate wouldn’t change. Except that’s
actually the problem.
You see, the Canadian Senate has a vast
amount of power at its disposal. Basically, it has an unlimited veto against
bills that are coming from the House of Commons. While it may not be a
confidence chamber and it can’t initiate money bills, it can keep sending ones
it doesn’t like back to the Commons if it was so inclined. But Canadian Senators,
realising that it would be unseemly to wield such veto power as an unelected
body unless absolutely necessary, almost never uses such powers. An “elected”
Senate would not feel such a need for restraint. In fact, they would be more
likely to use that power to justify their existence now that they’re elected –
especially in the event that the composition of the Senate is different
politically than that of the Commons. And lo and behold, we get the kind of
gridlock that you see in the States, and all without a constitutional mechanism
to break such a logjam.
For Tim Uppal to go around and
reassure Canadians that they have nothing to fear, that an “elected” Senate
under Harper’s scheme, wouldn’t be an issue, he’s either completely naïve, or he’s
being completely disingenuous. Either way, it’s a dangerous falsehood that he’s
spreading, and sadly, populist sentiment around the Senate and gross civic
illiteracy is leaving this largely unchallenged.
Elsewhere, it has been determined that
Jack Layton will lie in state in the Foyer of the House of Commons today and
tomorrow for public viewing. Nycole Turmel, meanwhile, vows to remain as
interim leader until the party can hold a leadership convention (likely in the
New Year), and also insists that the party is united.
On his day trip to Resolute, Harper talked search and rescue in light of the plane crash there earlier this week.
Incredibly, the government says we can’t
afford to participate in Expo 2012 in Korea. Not even after we’ve saved at
least a million dollars by cancelling Harper’s summer Arctic military photo op? I didn’t realise that we had become Iceland rather than one of the strongest economies in the G7.
Remember that old Parliament building
they’re digging up in Montreal? Here’s a story about some of the objects they’ve
uncovered, with plenty of the history of the building.
And here’s some video from Scott Brison’s
annual barbecue in Cheverie, Nova Scotia.
