Our good friend Senator Peter Harder is at it again, going to the media about his frustrations that Senate modernization isn’t going his way. The current complaint is twofold – one, that they haven’t adopted all of the Auditor General’s recommendations; and two, that the rules allow for senators to delay debating bills for lengthy periods. So, let’s break it down.

First of all, the AG’s recommendation that the Senate require an external audit committee to provide some kind of “external validation” was a Very Bad Recommendation. I’ve argued this time and again, and I’ll say it again right here – the Senate cannot be put under external oversight because parliament is self-governing. This is a very important consideration that the AG doesn’t understand. I don’t care how many government departments and private companies use this external validation – they are not parliament and parliament is self-governing. That means that the Senate must police itself, no matter how much the AG seems to find that to be a problem (and considering how very little his audit found for how much it cost, as problematic and arbitrary as it was). And yes, an audit committee is an idea that could include external members but must have a majority of members from the Senate on it, non-negotiable. If Parliament cannot govern itself, then we might as well just declare that the past 148 years of Responsible Government were just a failed experiment and we might as well tell the Queen to take over and rule us directly again. I’m not even kidding. If Harder can’t grasp this fundamental concept, then that is a problem.

The other point, about delays, is as much Harder’s own failing as Government Leader – err, “government representative” than anything. If government bills need swift passage, he needs to make the case to the Senate, and if there are delays, then he has tools at his disposal including time allocation, which he must again, make the case for swift passage. And there are a lot of bills that the Senate does dispose of relatively quickly, particularly because the Commons likes to dump them on the Senate shortly before Parliament rises for either the holidays or summer, and implore that they get passed post-haste, and most of the time, they are. And just like with the Senate’s veto, there are sometimes cases where delay is warranted for any number of reasons, including that it’s a bad bill (such as the single sports betting bill in the previous parliament). The Senate is not a rubber stamp; changing the rules to force them to be more “disciplined” in how they debate is seriously close to curtailing the privileges of parliamentarians to suit the government’s agenda. Parliament is there to keep a check on the government, not simply nod everything through. This is one more piece in the concerning pattern that Harder is looking to make changes to an institution that he doesn’t understand and will cause lasting damage if he’s not reined in.

Good reads:

• New Brunswick agreed to a bilateral deal on health funding, and other provinces are pissy because it breaks their united front – as though they had any leverage.
• Here’s an attempt to find out just how interim the interim Super Hornets will be.
• The Prime Minister spends money! On food and stuff! And he pays some of it back! Release the cheap outrage!
• Chinese businessmen organising fundraisers are charging more than the donation limits (aka “bundling”), which the party has little control over but let’s freak out.
• Two administrative tribunals have listed broadband home Internet connection a job requirement, disqualifying most rural and remote applicants.
• The old US Embassy building across from Parliament Hill will finally get a new purpose next year. But we’re still not sure what yet.
• While Kevin O’Leary says he’s serious about running for the leadership, Bell Media keeps him employed and giving him a platform.
• Mike Harris has joined Team O’Leary as a “mentor,” while his “exploratory committee gets fleshed out some more.
• Robert Hiltz wonders if maybe, just maybe, Kevin O’Leary had a point about war and peacekeeping.

Odds and ends:

MPs are complaining that the chairs in the House of Commons catch on their pockets and tear them.

Programming Note: I’m taking some time off until the New Year. Thanks again for reading – I’ve noticed a bit spike in my clicks and subscriptions lately, so thank you all for that, and I’ll see you in 2017.