It seems that some senators have had enough, and they’re not going to take it any more. First we saw Senate Speaker Kinsella bash back at NDP leader Thomas Mulcair’s unfounded smear during Question Period earlier in the week – for which Nathan Cullen went whining to the press about how it “undermined the Senate,” showing that he neither understands the role of the Senate Speaker and how it differs from that of the Commons, nor that Kinsella was simply responding in kind to Mulcair’s attack. That the NDP have built up a huge straw man around the supposed “non-partisan” nature of the Senate – which never has been the case nor was it ever the intention – shows the lengths to which they will construct fictions in order to suit their partisan abolition call. Yesterday we saw Quebec Senator Claude Dagenais unleashing his full fury on NDP MP Charmaine Borg after he received one of her ten-percenters about abolishing the Senate. His public response challenged her assertion that Senators were useless by remarking that constituents whom he has sent to speak to her (their local MP) found her to be useless and powerless, before he suggested that Borg go to the Parliamentary and read up on the institution before she attack it. He then unloaded on the fact that they were only elected by a surge of spontaneous sympathy for Jack Layton in Quebec (and it will be noted that Borg was one of the McGill Four who never even visited her riding during the election). He also has no intention of backing down so long as the NDP continue to attack the Senate. Meanwhile, some Conservative senators are also tired of being given orders by the PMO, and are meeting this weekend to talk about steps to reassert their independence – things like refraining from attending national caucus and possibly establishing bipartisan regional caucuses instead. That’s an incredibly encouraging sign and would go a long way to the chamber reasserting itself after being pushed around by a PMO bent on control.
Irwin Cotler, who was a member of Nelson Mandela’s international legal team during the Apartheid era, gives his recollections of the man and his struggle. Laura Stone gets Rob Anders’ reaction to Mandela’s passing, and Anders recommended an obituary that referred to Mandela as a terrorist. Anders previously opposed granting Mandela honorary Canadian citizenship on the grounds that Mandela was a “communist and terrorist.” It’s not the first time that Anders has said some fairly controversial things.
Today in Reform Act reaction, Stephen Maher says that this is the best bet at pushing back against “creeping presidentialism,” which is a surprise to me considering that he’s a columnist who has consistently advocated for increasing presidentialism in Canada by means of electing the Governor General. Susan Delacourt says that if we’re in the mood to reform Parliament by way of the Reform Act, perhaps we should overhaul the rules around political advertising while we’re at it. Andrew Coyne argues that parties shouldn’t be allowed to self-regulate as they are not really private organisations like people have argued.
In small steps toward greater transparency, the Commons will now post the manual that guides MPs in claiming expenses, and the list of MPs’ “designated travellers.”
The government has unveiled legislation to ensure that drug companies better report adverse drug reactions, and which also gives the government more powers to recall unsafe products.
Leona Aglukkaq courted controversy by commenting on a young Inuk’s photo over Twitter of his first polar bear kill.
Yesterday was the day that Canada was supposed to file our claims to the UN regarding our Arctic undersea claims and evidence about the land mass to back up said claims. What did we end up submitting? Well, we’re not quite sure because the government is being cagey about it.
Jim Flaherty says that EI funds won’t be used to help balance the budget. Good to know.
Former cabinet minister and current CIBC vice-chairman Jim Prentice cautions that the current rules around foreign takeovers are driving investment away from the Canadian economy.
Energy economist Andrew Leach looks at Thomas Mulcair’s speech to the Economic Club of Canada regarding his energy policy ideas, and asks the serious questions around the implementation of the seven identifiable goals therein.
Former PMO Communications Director Dimitri Soudas is being touted as the pick for the Conservative Party’s new executive director.
Tabatha Southey takes on Bill C-13, which purports to deal with cyberbullying and “revenge porn,” but instead overreaches and lowers the threshold for getting a warrant from a judge for searching your online information.
And Scott Feschuk imagines what instructions for a new toaster would be like, as written by Paul Calandra.