Roundup: Winds of change in the Senate

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Interesting things are afoot in the Senate, with a number of new motions and bills introduced that could change the way it operates in the future, as well as debates on operations. It’s been pretty fascinating so far, and so far we’ve had:

  • Senator Housakos’ point of privilege on the lack of a Leader of the Government in the Senate;
  • Senator Carignan’s motion to call ministers to answer questions in the Chamber;
  • Senator Mercer tabling a bill that would amend the constitution to allow Senators to elect their own Speaker (and yes, this is the easiest amending formula);
  • Senator Wallace leading a debate on committee memberships and how they’re determined.

It’s all very interesting, and there has been some spectacular pushback on the facile notion by some senators that only partisan senators can be effective. There will have to be a great number of rule changes that will have to be debated by the Senate, and in particular the Rules, Procedures and Rights of Parliament committee, whenever it is formally struck (which should be very shortly). Some of those changes will have to be the determination of funding for the Senate Liberal caucus as they are not the government caucus, nor are they the opposition caucus (no matter that they currently sit on the government side, more out of convention than anything). Part of the discussions that were had in response to Senator Housakos’ point of privilege are that Question Period did not enter into the Senate until 1979 (ETA: This is disputed. Senate rules dating to 1969 include it, as does a 1916 edition of Bourinot. Thanks for the corrections), and that independent Senators have chaired committees in the past. These are all matters that will remain up for discussion, but the process of internal change in that Chamber is already upon them.

Good reads:

  • The Ways and Means Motion has now passed, and this is what it means with regards to the TFSA changes.
  • Combing through the Public Accounts, the Citizen finds nearly $9.5 billion in lapsed funding last year, much of it from National Defence thanks to procurement woes.
  • Larry Bagnell is the new Chair of the Procedure and House Affairs committee, charged with doing things like reforming QP.
  • Aaron Wherry interviews Speaker Regan.
  • RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson admitted that there are racists in the Force, and he wants them gone.
  • Remember the Heartbleed Bug? Turns out more departments than just CRA were affected.
  • In the Mike Duffy trial, Duffy insisted that Senator Tkachuk told him that he had to claim all of those expenses. (O’Malley recap here).
  • The Canadian Press’ Baloney Meter™ checks the statement that the government has a plan for GHG emissions (spoiler: Not yet).
  • Paul Wells looks at Trudeau’s management team and their strategy to fulfil their myriad of promises.
  • Susan Delacourt warns Canada not to get too smug because we don’t have Donald Trump, as we have our own problems.
  • Jen Gerson pours deserving scorn on Thomas Mulcair’s “verbal spasm” about banning Donald Trump from Canada.
  • My Loonie Politics column this week dispels a few of the myths around the changes coming to the Senate.

Odds and ends:

The Trudeaus were profiled in Vogue, which has some of the usual cranks upset.

The first batch of Syrian refugees should start arriving today.

The Commons voted to make Mauril Bélanger honorary Speaker for a day (said day yet to be determined).