Solberg on Prorogue and the Senate
Former MP and Conservative cabinet minister has a blog and made some poignant comments about the mainstream media and liberals lambasting Prime Minister Stephen Harper for being a dictator.
Without prorogation, the Liberals would still have a majority of committee seats in the Senate even though they would have fewer seats overall. That would be a terribly anti-democratic situation on at least two levels and should be an outrage to the media if saving democracy was their real concern. That's a big if, however.
Remember that this is the PM who has given up power to Parliament on vetting Supreme Court nominees and going to war. He has tried mightily to elect the Senate. Calling him a dictator is so embarrassingly over the top that it says more about his critics than it does him.Exactly. Sometimes you wonder if those in the mainstream media will ever look at the bigger picture here and quit sensationalising moot issues.
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3 comments:
So all this lib outrage is self-serving. Surprise.
Black backgrounds with white text are hard on the eyes. I like your point!
But the Conservatives having a majority in the Senate despite being a minority in the House is democratic. Once again: Conservatives telling Canadians that their principles don't apply to them.
If Harper was actually serious about senate reform and actually tried to do something constitutional, then Solberg might have a remote tiny point. But:
- changing the terms of senators requires a constitutional amendment. Possibly even a unilateral federal government amendment, as was done when the age limit was imposed.
- Changing the way they get appointed/elected requires a constitutional amendment approved by the provinces.
- Harper has not met once with the premiers about setting up federal senate elections or to discuss payments for those federal elections.
- Harper has not answered any of the very real and very serious constitutional questions regarding his senate reform bill.
- Harper has not once asked Canadians what they want - whether they want the 10 year terms as his legislation proposes, no senate at all the way the NDP and Ontario have suggested, or otherwise. Harper only campaigned on the vague notions of "senate elections and senate terms". Are we not worthy of him asking our input on this fundamental change?
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