Prorogue to Senate Reform
It is now apparent that Prime Minister Stephen Harper is using the latest prorogue to then try and reform the senate. As I said, I fully support this prorogue if he was to do just that.
Stephen Harper will revive a contentious plan to reform the Senate after Parliament resumes in March, setting the stage for a showdown with the opposition and a handful of provinces over whether senators should be elected and held to term limits.
The Prime Minister's decision to prorogue Parliament, and appoint five new senators during the 22-day break, could give his minority government enough clout to move its reform agenda through the Senate, and then force a high-stakes vote on the legislation in the House of Commons.
Mr. Harper promised Tuesday that any senators he did appoint “will further our Senate reform agenda.” However, he acknowledged he is disappointed that his party has been unable to effect any meaningful reform to this point, and said he is “less optimistic” than he was four years ago that such legislation would make it through Parliament.
“I thought we'd get at least something,” he said in an interview with CBC television. “We're not there yet. … What the Senate is blocking isn't just government crime legislation, it's blocking Senate reform legislation.”
And don't you just love the "insenaty" from NDP MP Libby Davies:
New Democratic MP Libby Davies argued that after Mr. Harper moved to shut down Parliament in December, Canadians will be skeptical that the Prime Minister is really interested in democratic reform.
“He wants to control committees in the Senate, he wants to get away from the Afghan detainees issue in the Commons,” she said. “When he puts [Senate reform] out there as some kind of democratic priority, I think it's laughable.”
No, Libby, you're laughable--especially for recently calling on the Prime Minister to step into the whole women's ski jump issue with the International Olympic Committee.
The NDP want to scrap the senate yet they also want proportional representation in the house of commons. Why is that? Because the NDP do not have any senators and they'd gain seats proportionally. But what they don't understand is that if we had a triple-E senate in Canada, NDP senate candidates would have a better chance at being elected to the upper chamber then waiting around for an appointment. Not only that, but if it was equal, then all the provinces would have an equal say, eliminating the need for proportionality in the house, as a balance between population and regionalism is maintained.
Anyway, this voter is mighty happy about Harper's continued focus and leadership on reforming the senate. No other Canadian Prime Minister in history has made as much progress on this issue. We have and will continue to follow this issue very closely.
Oh, and did I mention a little something about prorogation? It's quite normal you know.
Go here and take a look see.
You'll notice that in pretty much every parliament, the prime minister would end a session (also known as PROROGUE).
For example, in the 37th parliament, under Jean Chretien, he prorogued parliament twice.
This is a normal part of our parliamentary democratic system and anyone saying otherwise is a nincumpoop.
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6 comments:
A very astute analysis.
The wet noodle opposition offered by the Three Stooges opposition won't carry much weight once the Olymipics start.
Frankly, I think most Canadaians would appreciate the break.
I know I would.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=240544201629
Join the Facebook group to SUPPORT the prorogation of Parliament!
It is ironic how Libby Davies and all the opposition members are rending their clothing and
weeping crocodile tears about how the Prime Minister is planning to gain control of the Senate Committees. It was O.K. so long as the socialist Liberals were doing it. But then, they were oh so progressive. I suspect that their main concern is that the Conservatives will be able to get legislation enacted that most Canadians want: tough on crime legislation, immigration reform, and reduced funding to do-nothing advocacy groups and useless governmental departments, and an economic policy that will help Canada out of this recession.
@anonymous:
By joining this group, which I would like to do, does that mean I have to sign up as a member of Facebook or give them any information (name, e-mail address, time of day)? If so, I'm sorry, but I would rather have a limb amputated without anesthetic than give any of these social networking sites even so much as a recognition that they even exist.
I call it fecesbook myself.
I, fully support the Harper Conservatives in proroguing the current session of parliment, if it helps balance and bring democratic reforms to the upper chamber, our Senate. As far as the anxoiusly awaited 2010 spring budget and thrown speech are concerned, I pray and hope that all taxpayer supported electoral subsidies are repealled by the Harper Conservatives. So the Canadian electorate can finally witness the true agenda's of the BLOC, NDP, LIBERALS and the GREEN'S.
Alan Clarke, Kelowna BC.
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