Roundup: Parliament’s ongoing abdication

Posted on by

After a day of impassioned and indeed blistering speeches, Bill C-14 has passed the Senate without its key amendment that would remove the “foreseeable death” restriction, and has received Royal Assent, making it law, but it wasn’t done without more damage done to our parliamentary system. No, I’m not one of those pearl-clutchers who saw the Senate doing its job in standing up against unconstitutional legislation as being some kind of anathema or affront to the democratically elected Commons – indeed, anyone who listened to Senator Serge Joyal’s speech yesterday about all of the times that the elected majority in the Commons used their powers to strip away people’s rights should see that’s why simply hand-waving about “democracy” can’t be an argument that holds water – but rather, it was the burden that is being placed on the Supreme Court of Canada and those who must challenge this legislation that is the affront. The prevailing sentiment in the chamber became “this is going to be challenged, and we did as much as we can so now it’s up to the Supreme Court,” when no, the Senate could have dug in their heels and used the powers available to them under the constitution and threaten to defeat the bill outright because of the grave doubts about its constitutionality if the government didn’t back down. Joyal tried to move an amendment that would restore the previous amendment with a proviso that it be suspended for up to two years until the Supreme Court could weigh in on its constitutionality, which was a compromise that I remain uncomfortable with because I don’t like the fact that we are increasingly demanding that the Supreme Court weigh in on bills as though legislating were a game of “Mother May I?” I was almost convinced, however, by the fact that doing it this way would be at the government’s expense rather than at the expense of a family with a suffering member who would need to begin the legal challenge process all over again – something that some senators deemed to be an immoral action. It bothers me a great deal that this is becoming the new normal in our politics – that we are increasingly becoming dependent upon the courts to deal with matters of evolving public policy because MPs – and indeed senators – lack the testicular/ovarian fortitude to actually deal with tough issues.

To that end, I’m also extremely disappointed that you had senators who said that they did their job in warning the government about the fact that the bill was unconstitutional, and that the government will have to answer to the people for it. Except it’s not the Senate’s job to “warn” – it’s their job to protect minorities and the constitution, which they did not end up doing today. And “answering to the people” is precisely why the government has been so forcefully timid in what they were going to allow under this bill. “This is just the first step,” they kept insisting, but to be perfectly frank, I don’t believe them. The bill mandates that they must have a report within two years on things like advanced directives, mature minors and the mentally ill, but if you think they’re going to do something that report other than refusing to touch it with a bargepole, well, you’re a far more optimistic person than I. No, what happened today was a further abdication by parliamentarians in both chambers of doing their jobs, and forcing more of it onto the courts (and at the cost of the individuals who will be forced to bring the challenges). It’s disgraceful.

Good reads:

  • The Commons has adjourned for the summer – well, except for the brief return for Obama’s speech. The Senate continues to sit next week.
  • MPs were named to the electoral reform committee yesterday, which include Nathan Cullen and Jason Kenney.
  • While the PM talks about work-life balance, his ministers – especially those with young children – find it to be easier said than done.
  • The Information Commissioner is getting a long-awaited $3 million boost to her budget to help resolve the backlog of complaints.
  • The Justice Minister finally announced a spate of new judicial appointments, the majority of them women. It’s nowhere near enough for provinces like Alberta.
  • The Finance Minister is meeting his counterparts about public pensions, which his department warns have not picked up the slack from deteriorating private plans.
  • The government says there’s no need for a public inquiry into Afghan detainees – never mind that they called for one while in opposition.
  • Here’s a look at Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, the MP who has dissented the most so far this parliament.
  • The PM of Romania was in town, and linked lifting visa restrictions on his country to their ratifying CETA.
  • Kady O’Malley has sage advice for the Liberals on the Procedure and House Affairs committee currently pursuing alleged leaks of the assisted dying bill.
  • Susan Delacourt notes that while we know the Liberals outspent the Conservatives in the last election, we need to find out where they spent to be effective.

Odds and ends:

The government has named their panel to review federal tax expenditures.

Here’s a look at the various promotional items that departments and Crown corporations have created for themselves.