Harper Talking Out of Both Sides Of His Mouth

Unlike ex-Prime Minister Jean Chretien, Prime Minister Harper is talking out of both sides of his mouth. Not that I'm a Jean Chretien fan. Okay, cheap shot at Mr. Chretien. Sorry about that.

I wanted to post this earlier, but wasn't able to get around to it. I figured now was as good a time as any, considering it's the same old news of death and destruction coming out of Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon.

If you just put your thinking caps on, you'll remember that before and during the election, Mr. Harper talked about an elected senate. However, in a recent interview, Stephen (I won't say Steve because then I'd get an admonishing e-mail from his mother) said that he wasn't ready to do that during his current mandate, even though he would like to. The reason he gave was that he didn't want to cause additional cost to taxpayers, because elected officials can write off election expenses.

Some of the points Mr. Harper made are:

He would never appoint a senator (yet he appointed Michael Fortier right after the election, presumably to reward him for his campaign work for the Conservatives. Does your mother know you fib, Stephen?);

He wants to limit a Senator's term to eight years, vice a lifetime appointment to age 75, currently;

He wants to have fixed election dates to be held every 4 years, except for a non-confidence motion. But the PM can still go to the Governor General to request a dissolution of parliament prior to the 4 year limit, then have a an election on the fixed date in October.

Okay, okay. There are some benefits:

1. We have fixed election dates, which makes it convenient for politicians and electors;

2. There is a cost savings because governments may otherwise be tempted to call early snap elections to take advantage of high polling numbers;

3. Senators become accountable to the electorate.

BUT, I'm thinking there are some serious disadvantages too:

1. If the government requests dissolution of Government in February, and there's no election until October, we are talking about eight months of no parliamentary debate. That means that political debate has to be conducted through the media. How democratic is that? Not a very effective means of governing.

2. If Senators are elected, then you could get the same party having a majority in both houses. The Senate is supposed to be the house of sober second thought. If you have the same party in both houses holding majorities, a lot of stuff will just slide through. Yes, you have partisanship in the Senate now, but I think Senate appointments are better than going through Senate elections. Electing MPs should be all that Canadian citizens should be asked to handle. We shouldn't get into political popularity contests in the Senate. On top of which, not having Senate elections will save the country coffers from Senate election expenses.

3. If politicians know exactly when the election is, they'll spend a lot of time leading up to it for electioneering. Look at the United States. It's generally accepted that campaigning for the Presidency starts about two years, before the actual election!

No, Stephen, you're wrong on this one (not the first time either). Sure, the Canadian parliamentary system has room for improvement. Everything does. But your suggestions are way out in left field. Is this real reform? On top of which, you don't do as you say (re: the Fortier Senate appointment). How about imposing minimum attendance for Senators during sittings? Or, allowing a "None of the above" selection on ballots, so people can make a protest vote without the fear of electing say, an NDP government (like what happened during the Ontario experiment in the early 90's).

Do you want real reform, Mr. Prime Minister? Step aside and let someone else run the country, because it appears as if you're what we call in the business world, an autocratic manager. How about giving Peter MacKay a shot? He looks like he could handle it. A friendly Maritimer, boy next door, kind of guy. Sure Belinda broke his heart, but he seems to have bounced back.

Wings Over The World