NDP ethics critic Charlie Angus sneered at Prime Minister Stephen Harper's new inductees on Saturday, saying Harper was using the Upper Chamber as a "patronage dumping ground for party buddies and hacks."
Appointees announced Friday include Ottawa Police chief Vern White, Canola Council of Canada president JoAnne Buth, former Conservative MP Norm Doyle, party strategist Ghislain Maltais, family doctor Asha Seth and nursing specialist Betty Unger.
Former Quebec cop and Tory candidate Jean-Guy Dagenais' appointment will be made official in the coming weeks.
"Canadians are getting ripped off having to pay for these unelected boobs, I mean really," Angus said.
Liberal democratic reform critic Stephane Dion said all the new senators have decent resumes but "the fact some of them have links to the Conservative Party is no surprise."
Still, Dion said he's more concerned over Bill C-7 - the Senate Reform Act - currently at second reading in the House of Commons.
The Conservatives aim to have the bill - with calls for nine-year term limits and 'non-binding' provincial elections for future appointments - in front of committee sometime this spring.
Dion said in recent months, the Senate has failed in its duties as a chamber of sober second thought by expediting bills through with little consideration.
But the Liberal MP cautioned an elected senate - even one with a clause that allows the prime minister to ignore the results - could have the opposite effect of creating the type of legislative gridlock seen in the U.S. He also argued it would magnify the disproportionate representation of eastern provinces compared to the west.
For Angus, however, there's an easy solution.
"The Senate is an anachronism," he said. "If you really want democratic change, ask the Canadian public whether they want to keep paying for these guys."
The government maintains the new Senators will work support its move to reform the Upper Chamber.
Original Article
Source: if Press
No comments:
Post a Comment