After much drama and back-and-forth between the two chambers, the Senate passed the omnibus transport bill yesterday after the Commons rejected their amendments a second time. Once again, we did not get the constitutional crisis that we were promised, and we’ll get a whole new round of back-patting that the Senate did its job, because at least a few of the amendments were accepted (even though the larger problem remains that many of the ones that were rejected saw no debate, nor were reasons for rejecting them provided other than the government “respectfully disagrees,” which is not a reason).

Amidst this, the Conservative Senate leader, Senator Larry Smith, penned a response in Policy Optionsto Government Leader in the Senate – err, “government representative” Senator Peter Harder’s previous op-ed about the apparent use of a Salisbury Convention in the Canadian Senate (which was false). The problem there, however, is that Smith didn’t really rebut anything about the Salisbury Convention or lack thereof. Rather, he went on about how the prime minister is trying to walk back on his promise of a more independent Senate by means of their rejection of the bulk of the amendments to the transport bill, and the apparent orchestration through Harder of a policy of trying to tell senators how to vote (as in, pass bills even though we say that we don’t want you to be a rubber stamp). And while I sympathise with many of his points, I’m not convinced by his overarching thesis.

Despite the fact that many a Conservative senator keeps trying to promulgate a series of conspiracy theories, from the fact that the new Independent senators are all just crypto-Liberals that are being whipped to vote a certain way, that they are trying to “destroy the opposition” in the Senate, or in this case, that the PM is trying to undermine his own pledge for independence via Harder’s patently unhelpful suggestions. But part of the problem is that on the face of it, none of these really stack up. While we can’t deny that many of the new senators have government sympathies, I wouldn’t consider them partisans in the same sense. The issues of their block-voting has more to do with their anxieties about accidentally voting down government legislation than it is about their being whipped to vote a certain way. And frankly, the biggest reason why I sincerely doubt that Trudeau is conspiring with Harder is the fact that there has been so little competence being demonstrated by Harder and his office when it comes to management of the agenda in the Senate that it seems more than implausible that there is any kind of coordination happening, particularly since I know that there are people in Trudeau’s and Bardish Chagger’s offices who know how the Senate works, and we’re not seeing their input. And the longer that the Conservatives keep pushing these woeful conspiracies, the more they undercut their own position on maintain a level of status quo in the Senate that is probably beneficial in the longer term. But they never seem to learn this lesson, and it may cost them, and the institution, as a result.

Good reads:

• Justin Trudeau indicates that he’d be open to amendments on the electoral reform bill, but we’ll see how far that goes.
• Here’s your recap of Bill Morneau’s appearance at Committee of the Whole last night. It doesn’t look like anything interesting got said.
• The government introduced a new bill to overhaul the Divorce Act to deal in gender-neutral language and to ensure that all decisions are child-centred.
• The government is looking to make it possible to claw back performance pay and bonus pay for senior public servants found guilty of misconduct or mismanagement.
• Government spending on paid Facebook advertising is increasing, much to the ire of traditional media outlets.
• The Commons justice committee has tabled their report on mental health support for juries, which includes better pay and better access to counselling.
• The incoming Chief Electoral Officer is defending the use of voter information cards as a matter of “dignity” for voters.
• He also says that they have started preparing changes based on the bill before the Commons and will make adjustments if amendments happen.
• Here’s the complete rundown of coming changes to the Hill when it comes to harassment policies.
• A group of officials from Mali was in Canada to help learn about how to document human rights abuses, based on our Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
• Here’s an interesting interview with Liberal MP Terry Beech, who is trying to do what he can from inside the party to mitigate Trans Mountain issues.
• A Liberal private member’s bill will be tabled next week dealing with decriminalizing payments for surrogates or genetic material.
• Francis Drouin says that Halifax Police have concluded their harassment investigation and have not charged him, as it was likely a case of mistaken identity.
• Brad Trost is vowing to go “all the way” with his court dispute with his party over the leak of the membership list during the leadership contest.
• BC is launching a court challenge of Alberta’s Bill 12 to cut off oil supplies.
• In light of Nathan Cullen’s private member’s bill contest, Kady O’Malley’s Process Nerd column looks at the ins and outs of PMBs to help would-be entrants.
• Susan Delacourt wonders if the prime minister can poke enough fun at himself over the India trip at the Press Gallery Dinner to take the pressure off.
• My column looks at how now is an opportune time for Canadians to re-engage with our constitutional monarchy, given the gong show happening south.

Odds and ends:

Over in Law Times, I talked with environmental lawyers about the government’s new assessment bill. They have issues with it.

Here is the day in photos of Karina Gould’s first day back at work with her new baby.

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