Senate Reform: Bert Brown apologizes/explains

Bert Brown spent a large part of the 1980s and 1990s, ploughing Es into his field to advocate for Senate reform. Now he's a bona fide senator and he's finding, hey, Senate reform isn't as easy as you think!

Minutes ago, Senator Brown issued the statement below to explain why his benefactor, Prime Minister Harper, has had to, uh, reverse himself on all that Senate-reform  talk of old. Put simply, it's the fault of a) the provinces b) the Liberals c) the opposition as a whole d) that damn coalition last year.

The important thing to know, though, is that it's not Harper's fault. Well done, Bert! You've earned your salary today.

Statement from Hon. BERT BROWN, Senator (AB)

OTTAWA - In lieu of speculation in recent media about upcoming Senate appointments, Canada's only elected Senator, Bert Brown,  today issued the following statement:

Having spent over 26 years fighting for Senate reform and having had many frank discussions with Prime Minister Harper on the subject, I wish to clarify a few misconceptions about why Senate seats are being filled.

You will recall that Prime Minister Harper began his mandate by working for two years on reform of the Senate without making any patronage appointments. From 2006 to 2008 he gave the Provinces & Territories a time-limited opportunity to introduce legislation (or so called Senatorial Selection Acts) to elect their Senators democratically.

In 2008, I travelled on behalf of the Prime Minister to deliver that message personally to every Premier`s office  in every Province and Territory in Canada. This was my third national trip related to Senate reform but my first on behalf of a Prime Minister who was serious about and committed to real reform.

Many of the Provinces and Territories were interested in our proposal and in bringing democratic choice to Canadians. Alberta already had legislation, Saskatchewan has now passed legislation, and Manitoba is on the verge of publishing the results of their Special Committee into holding elections in Manitoba. I was pleased to report back that many of the Provinces we spoke with were conditionally in favour of holding elections. Our work in this area is ongoing and I am in regular contact with Premiers offices.

When the Prime Minister appointed eighteen Senators last year, he did so for two main reasons. The first is the Senate had become dysfunctional as a result of the political imbalance in the chamber. With 58 Liberal Senators and only 20 Conservatives (that`s close to three-to-one) the functions of the Senate and its various committees was becoming logistically impossible.

The second reason was the threat of the coalition. The notion that the opposition could have continued to stack the Senate with its own loyalists pushing the ratio of Liberals to Conservatives to four-to-one was unacceptable, not to mention the prospect of having Separatists sitting in the Senate. If the coalition had succeeded, we knew that the opposition would have quickly filled the existing vacancies.

Its important to point out that in a minority government scenario, the support of two opposition parties is required to pass legislation. The NDP is against any progressive reform of the Senate  and wishes it abolished, the Bloq does not believe in reform, and the Liberals consider the Senate a place of sinecure and reward for their loyalists in other words, the other parties do not support change. This is all to say that the Prime Minister simply cannot pass real reform measures through the House of Commons: he simply doesnt have the votes there to make it happen.

This brings me to my final, perhaps most important point. Within less than a year Canadians will finally see a Conservative majority in the Senate.  This will be the first real opportunity, in over 140 years, for elected Senate legislation to be introduced in our Parliament and passed. Since all new Senators are required to support our reform measures, and  with a majority who believe in and support real reform, we will finally have the votes to make it happen.

Comments

[daveberta]

Senator Brown's argument seems to be an attempt to pass politics off as governance. If he was sincerely arguing for actual Senate Reform, I would suspect that the words 'Liberal' and 'Conservative' probably wouldn't have been featured so prominently in this media release.

[Jan]

There was no other choice for the PM.It is the only way to arrive at the ultimate solution to make it an elected Senate.
Liberals will never agree to a reform, because they know that Canadians will never elect Liberals to the Senate, for the simple reason they do not have the interest of Canadians at heart.

[Dave]

There was no other choice for John Turner, either, if you believed John Turner.

[Link Hogbrow]

"Since all new Senators are required to support our reform measures, and with a majority who believe in and support real reform, we will finally have the votes to make it happen."

Not until you get the provinces to ratify Senator. Its in the constitution, which you ignore at your peril.

Unless you don't want your country to survive at all.

You do want Canada to continue to exist as an independent nation and as a parliamentary democracy right ?

Right .....

[Ken S from Ramara]

Harpo has made a mockery of the Senate. Instead of appointing distinguishing Canadians (from all political affiliations) Harpo appoints only Reformatory bag persons or yes men/woman (ie SHEEPLE). If turning +13B surplus into a -$75B deficit doesn't convince you he is the worst PM in Canadian history, I don't know what else can!

[Matt]

In politics, if you have to explain it... you have already lost the argument.

I feel a litle sorry for Senator Bert, but the explanation seems a little pathetic.

[Alan Wayne Scott]

Where is the surprise here?

This minority, 'right-wing coalition' government of Stephen Harper continues apace to eradicate the highest ideals of our federation, so that any national bonds that are left, might be more easily severed. This would better facilitate his underlying goal from the start, to divide this nation if he can't have it all, and retain control, for his oil industry funded backers, only the portion(s) that they consider to have 'value'. The Harper Conservatives, not the Bloc, are the most dangerous separatist group threatening Canada today.

Harper's thugs lie to us, blatantly misrepresenting the truth, even from the halls of OUR House on Parliament Hill, whenever the Prime Minister deems it to be in their best interests to do so.

Some would say that politics has always been similarly bent, but Harper takes it to new lows. If Canadians ever wake up enough to deny these soulless opportunists office, it will be interesting to hear what the courts will have to say about their performance, elected senate or not.

[Wascally Wabbit]

What you might call a "Senatorial sycophantic Statement"...
We seem to be getting some silly stuff out of the Senate the last 24 hours...I cite Senator David Smith's statement that "the liberal Party probably won't bring down the Harper government on EI..."
Well - duh! That ship sailed in June David!
Rather - you have the ideal reason right now - to eradicate these undemocratic moves by a minority government - but - the only way you can do it Senator - is to bite the democratic bullet - forget waiting for the polls to tell you you might have a majority - and sit down with your opposite numbers in the other Centre / Left parties to devise an election AND governing strategy!

[Sarann]

The new senators are required to do what? What if that's another lie? Harper will suddenly say that his friends in the senate can stay till they drop, because he doesn't keep his word about anything, does he? Anyway he has been saying the senate is a joke for a long time and now he has made it so.

[Gabby in QC]

Mr. Scott, perhaps this has escaped your notice.

Liberal Senator Wilfrid Moore introduced a bill in the senate to fill existing vacancies:
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/content/Senate/Bills/392/public/S-224/S-224_1/S-224_text-e.htm
"Vacancy in Senate
13.1 Within 180 days after a vacancy happens in the Senate, the Prime Minister shall recommend to the Governor General a fit and qualified person for appointment to the Senate to fill the vacancy.
Transitional
(2) In respect of a vacancy that exists in the Senate at the time this Act receives royal assent, the Prime Minister shall, within 180 days after the day of that assent, recommend to the Governor General a fit and qualified person for appointment to the Senate to fill the vacancy."

The PM has filled the vacancies that needed filling, That need was seen even by the Liberal senator and probably his Liberal colleagues.

Your all-consuming hatred of PM Harper is perhaps blinding you to those facts.

And in case you haven't noticed, conservatives have a stake in "OUR House on Parliament Hill" too. It is not exclusive Liberal property.

[Wascally Wabbit]

Thank you Gabby!
At least we know what the PMO Talking points are today.
Surprising - I had assumed Mr. Giorno would think that the exquisite timing of the Gary Doer appointment would sweep that other stinking mess off the front page!

[Alan Wayne Scott]

Yo Gabby,

I don't "hate" Mr. Harper,

True, I don't like many of his policies and I don't like what he has done to my beloved country and her citizens.

I do not trust him as far as I could throw him and his baggage, which grows by the day.

This is an age when what one says can and will be replayed throughout the coming election cycle. Hopefully Canadians will catch on to his manipulative fear-mongering a third time around.

Mr Harper's adept political appointment of Mr. Doer, also weakens the NDP hold on Manitobe, eh? I guess he plans to try and take Manitoba with him when he partitions HARPERLAND.

[Gabby in QC]

Wascally Wabbit, you flatter me by saying my comment came from the PMO, but you'd be surprised what a helper Google can be.

Just with my own wittle computer I was able to dig up that information.

You too could accomplish the same thing if you put your wittle mind to it.

[Gabby in QC]

Yo, Al!

You're entitled to your opinion regarding PM Harper's policies, although your lament about "what he has done to my beloved country and her citizens" is somewhat melodramatic, IMO.

I could say the same thing about the Liberal reign of Trudeau and Jean Chretien, who really transformed this country, not always for the better.

You don't trust Mr. Harper? Fine. It's your prerogative. Make sure when the next election comes around, you exercise your vote.

But please remember there are plenty of citizens - I am one - who do trust PM Harper's ability to lead this country. Last time I looked, it's not exclusive Liberal nor NDP property.

[Jon Drake]

I love the liberal squirming and squealing on senate reform. They invoke constitutionality as if they are the sole protectors of it and the right of every one of their supportera to live off the public trough forever. Fits them to a "t", just like rats who have had their nest discovered. Fortunately it is soon to be eliminated. Go to it Mr. Harper.