Roundup: Housakos vs Harder

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It took a couple of weeks, but I will say that I was encouraged to read that Senator Leo Housakos was in the press pushing back against Senator Peter Harder’s comments that the Senate hasn’t been implementing changes to its processes as recommended by the Auditor General. As chair of the Internal Economy committee, Housakos has corrected the record to point out that yes, a lot of changes have happened (and in fact were happening since long before the now infamous audit happened), and also hit back at the issue of an audit committee. Harder it seems has bought into the AG’s wrong-headed notion that an external audit body be formed, which I will reiterate is absolutely an affront to parliamentary democracy. The Senate is a parliamentary body, and parliament is self-governing. It needs to be, full stop. Making senators answerable to an outside body puts a stake in the ability to be self-governing, and pretty much says that we don’t deserve to be a self-governing country anymore, and should just hand all of the power back to the Queen. That Harder can’t see that is blind and a little bit gobsmacking. While the Senate does plan to announce an audit body soon, it will be of mixed composition, and if they’ve paid attention to Senator McCoy’s proposal to mirror the House of Lords’ body – basically three senators and two outside experts – then we’ll be fine. But make no mistake – such a body must be majority senators and be chaired by a Senator. Otherwise let’s just start the process of shuttering parliament, and no, I’m not even being dramatic about it.

While we’re on the topic of the Senate, I just wanted to give a tip of my hat to now-retired Senator Nancy Ruth (who was on Power & Politics yesterday at 1:49:00 on this link). Nancy Ruth (that’s one name, like Cher or Madonna) was one of my early entry points into political journalism, when I came to the Hill writing for GLBT publications like the now-defunct Outlooks and Capital Xtra. As the only openly lesbian parliamentarian, and the only openly LGBT member of the Conservative caucus who wasn’t media shy, she was my point of contact into that caucus and that particular political sphere. The relationship I built there gave me my first by-line for The Canadian Press, and I eventually moved into more mainstream outlets. She was an absolute joy to cover, and I will miss her terribly.

Good reads:

  • Day two of Trudeau’s tour heard more about carbon taxes and hydro prices than his vacations. He also said oil sands would be phased out, and tax loopholes closed.
  • Here’s another take on what the PM’s tour is revealing, particularly about how he’s engaging.
  • Jane Philpott says she’s looking at tightening regulations to bring down drug prices.
  • While RCMP unionization legislation remains in limbo, CUPE has moved to start unionizing certain RCMP staff.
  • Maclean’s looks at how our immigration system appeals to both people who want more immigration…and those who want less, and some reality check on both.
  • Chrystia Freeland will be part of the delegation to the Trump inauguration.
  • Lobbying activity surged after there was a change in government…because there was a change in government. Not rocket science.
  • Here’s a look back at why the ethics rules on private flights came into being in the first place.
  • Kellie Leitch responded to criticism saying she has 22 letters after her name an is “not an idiot.” She later amended to say it’s only 18 letters. But she’s not an elitist!
  • Deepak Obhrai offered…a joke that Vladimir Putin told him at a conference that was about murdering your enemies. No, seriously.
  • Here’s a very interesting longread about why massive IT projects (like Phoenix or Shared Services Canada) go wrong so often.
  • Susan Delacourt offers some advice for the American media about dealing with Trump’s tantrums.
  • Paul Wells writes about the government’s particular fascination with “moonshot” projects.

Odds and ends:

Tight budgets during upgrades to our frigates meant that air conditioning wasn’t upgraded at the same time, meaning new systems could overheat. Oops.

For the National Observer, I wrote about the Supreme Court of Canada decision that denied an Alberta rancher from suing the province’s energy regulator.