I’ve heard so much about this move on Justin Trudeau’s part regarding senate reform, and I’d like to give my opinion on this issue.
I hear the government side saying that it means nothing and that all that happens is that the senators who are Liberal get to sleep in one day a week. That’s hardly the point. That one day a week is a caucus meeting where the senators get inside information from the party and that’s hardly at arm’s length.
Senators who are Liberal are no longer supposed to raise money for their party and that is a good thing. Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin were touted as the best fund-raisers for the Conservatives. They travelled all over the country (on our dollar) not for the good of the country but for the good of the Conservative Party.
I’ve also heard commentators say that no other party has made a move on this issue. That is a falsehood. The NDP put forward a motion asking for the same thing—arm’s length from the government—and Trudeau voted against it as did the Conservatives. Little mention is made that the NDP have never been in power federally and have no senators, so their hands are tied as far as actually doing anything.
I think it’s a good first move on Justin Trudeau’s part and I’m looking forward to the next step—the abolition of an appointed senate that can strike down an environmental bill that was passed by the elected MPs.
Donna Stocker, Cawston, B.C.