Once again Stephen Harper has proven that he isn't the great defender of Canadian democracy.Of course it first started with Harper taking his ball and storming off the field, forcing Parliament to be suspended so he could avoid a vote of non-confidence.
Now he has appointed 18 people as senators, even though Harper has always stated those positions should be elected directly by rank-and-file Canadians.
I don't want to disparage the new appointees as I'm sure they are all fine people and qualified in their own fields. But one has to wonder how Harper came up with the short list.
Certainly Pamela Wallin and Mike Duffy are entertaining enough on TV and have some political knowledge, but should critical affairs of state be left in the hands of talking heads? And if it should be, were Rex Murphy and Lloyd Robertson unavailable? For that matter, if Harper was looking for media types to wade into the trenches, I know of a really handsome, talented guy in Vernon (see photo above) that would have been willing to put life on hold for the good of the country.
And if Nancy Greene Raine is going to be in the Senate, how about other sports figures from days-gone-by? I mean, who wouldn't want to see Dave "Tiger" Williams in the Upper Chamber, or perhaps even Toller Cranston? Wouldn't it be great to see Senator Lui Passaglia going up against Senator Randy Ferbey over the state of agricultural subsidies? Heck, Don Cherry could be chairman of the committee on foreign affairs.
Harper also missed one category completely — '80s rock stars.
Can't you see it now — April Wine, Kim Mitchell, Trooper, Chilliwack? Of course if that were to happen, Funtastic would have a hard time booking acts for the summer festival.
Also on the list of appointees is Nicole Eaton, whose primary reason for becoming a senator is being a member of the prestigious Eaton family. But if there's a need for a retail dynasty inside the Senate, my vote would have been for the Sharma clan at City Furniture.
It should also be pointed out that at least one of the new senators ran unsuccessfully for the Conservatives in the federal election. Which makes me wonder why Harper is so quick to claim that a coalition government would be illegitimate because the Liberals and NDP didn't gain the confidence of electors Oct. 14. This new senator didn't cut the mustard with voters in her own riding, but now she can help run the government. Where I come from, that spells hyp-o-crit-i-cal.
But that appears to be a common theme with Harper.
He argues that he is a strong advocate for democracy but he tries to undermine a legitimate concept within the parliamentary system, primarily a coalition. Despite an elected Senate being a major plank of the Conservative platform, Harper stacked the benches so he can gain political advantage. And that also goes against another long-standing Conservative policy that Parliament should not be corrupted for purely partisan reasons.
Harper also doesn't seem to understand that when he got Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean to suspend Parliament, it was placed on extended Christmas break. That means all major changes to how Parliament operates, including Senate appointments, should be delayed. And that is especially true when a majority of MPs don't have confidence in Harper.
But the truly sad part is that if Harper is going to make a mockery of our democratic system, he should have done it with complete style.
And that means some potentially great senators have been missed, including Alan Thicke and Ben Mulroney. Of course Bubbles, Ricky and Julian are also soon retiring, and they'll be looking for work.
Apparently, Richard saved his best for last. Good thing he was not appointed or Harper's gain would have been our loss!
No comments:
Post a Comment