Roundup: Bruised feelings helping nobody

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In yet another write-up of the creation of the new Independent Working-Group in the Senate, we’re seeing a repetition of certain themes, and an omission of some other, more fundamental issues at play such as privilege and Independent senators running their own affairs, in part because you have a group of journalists who aren’t quite sure what to look for and what questions to ask – and it’s not helped by some of the senators at the centre of the issue feeding into those narratives instead of talking about the other issues at play. The narratives, of course, have to do with partisanship in the institution. Those senators who have left caucuses are quick to talk about the blind partisanship eroding the credibility of the Senate, and media observers who are unfamiliar with the Senate outside of the salaciousness of the ClusterDuff affair glom onto this kind of talk because it confirms all kinds of notions that they’ve held without much in the way of actual challenge. Meanwhile, senators who are still proud party members are proving particularly thin-skinned about the whole thing.

Sen. Dagenais told The Hill Times that after reading the six Senators’ press release, he was “upset” and “disappointed” that they questioned the “credibility” of the parliamentary work of Conservative and Liberal Senators because they’re affiliated with political parties.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I don’t accept this,” said Sen. Dagenais.

I won’t deny that there has been a certain tone of moral superiority by some of those senators who have left their caucuses, and it can feel like a bit of a slap in the face to others. At the same time, I think that some of the counter-protestations, that senators who leave their caucuses should resign (per Senator Tkachuk) or that that the notions of a non-partisan Senate are an inherent breach of privilege and would render the Chamber non-functional (per some of the arguments of Senator Housakos, among others) are also way beyond the pale. And yes, some of this has been fed by Justin Trudeau’s talk about how wonderful a non-partisan Senate would be, as though it’s partisanship that’s the problem rather than a question of degrees. No, partisanship is not a bad thing – in fact, it’s fairly healthy in a democracy, and the Senate reflecting that diversity of political opinion is a good thing. What has been a problem are the degrees to which senators, particularly new ones, have taken their partisanship, and it cannot be understated that nearly all of the Conservative senators took it a little too far in demonstrating their loyalty and commitment to putting forward Stephen Harper’s agenda, but they were also very poorly trained upon appointment, and they took the wrong lessons to heart. That is not the fault of partisanship – it’s the fault of a party leadership that was trying to exercise levers of power that didn’t exist in the Senate, and they tried to create some using sentiment and a sense of personal loyalty to the man who appointed them. Now, things are swinging violently in the other direction and babies are being thrown out with bathwater. Partisanship doesn’t make the chamber a bad place, nor does a group of senators looking to try a new way of doing things make their efforts illegitimate. This is a bold new era, and both sides need to stop this constant state of upsetting each other. There is room in our parliament for parties and independents, and the sooner they stop this game of offending one another, the faster we can proceed with a credible modernisation process.

Good reads:

  • Rona Ambrose says that Trudeau should have pushed harder for Keystone XL while in Washington. Because that worked out so well for the last guy…
  • While Toronto is calling for safe injection sites, the Health Minister has already given her support for the measure.
  • The RCMP are fighting to keep the courts from revealing their mobile phone surveillance technology.
  • Those accountability changes to the RCMP’s discipline process brought in by the previous government made a system even more opaque than before.
  • The government added $30 million to the science vessel construction project, blaming a low-balled costing mess by the previous government.
  • The federal government is routinely overbilled by contractors to the tune of tens of millions of dollars? Gosh, you think?
  • Charities want the government to drop ongoing audits, never mind the principle that the CRA is supposed to operate at arm’s length from the government.
  • Matt Gurney calls for guidance for police and prosecutors when it comes to marijuana crimes.
  • Senator Denise Batters writes about her objections to mental illness being included in the doctor-assisted dying report.
  • Stephanie Carvin lays out the four facets of fighting ISIS.
  • Kate Heartfield suggests putting a woman who makes us feel a bit uncomfortable about our history on our banknotes.
  • Stephen Gordon writes about the need for more transparency in economic analyses.
  • Jen Gerson writes about the blunders and ineptitude that still mars Alberta politics, despite a new party in charge.

Odds and ends:

Senator Salma Ataullahjan visited the site of a terror attack in Pakistan.

Trudeau is headed to the United Nations this week, and will get an award from Catalyst for his promotion of gender parity.