Mr. Trudeau singled out Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) recent decision to go to the Supreme Court of Canada in a bid for the court’s backing of his government’s plan to limit Senate terms and move toward an elected Senate on its own, without the support of a majority of the provinces.
“In a moment of crisis like this, it’s not the time to move in fear, and start major constitutional changes,” Mr. Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) told reporters.
“There are problems to fix, but it should be done by the Senators who are in service of the country and have the capacity to serve the country,” he said.
While saying there are options to the way Senators are appointed by the Prime Minister in Canada—such as the way candidates for federal judicial appointments are vetted and the Congressional screening of presidential appointments in the United States—Mr. Trudeau said it is the “values” of nominees to the Senate that must be addressed first.
“We need to be appointing qualified people, in a transparent, open process that leaves people confident that these public servants in Parliament, that Senators are, are going to be doing right by the province and the country they represent,” Mr. Trudeau said.
Considering the power the Senate currently holds, but rarely uses—among other things its ability to veto legislation passed by the Commons and also introduce its own bills for passage through Parliament—Mr. Trudeau said “everything goes to pot” if Canada begins electing senators without thorough study beforehand.
“The Senate on paper has five times more power than it actually wields, the senate understands that it does not have the legitimacy of elected Members of Parliament, and that is its own check and balance,” he said.
“If you suddenly start electing Senators, you’re suddenly giving serious weight and responsibility to each of these Senators, to wield that power, and then you look at regional imbalances of 24 Senators from Quebec, six Senators from Alberta, and suddenly everything goes to pot,” Mr. Trudeau told a small clutch of reporters.
“It becomes completely unbalanced. It’s irresponsible to talk about electing Senators without understanding the level of constitutional upheaval it’s going to take to make that a fair process,” he said.
Mr. Trudeau was asked about the Senate after Conservative and Liberal Senators voted Tuesday to force former Conservative senator Patrick Brazeau on leave of absence after Gatineau, Que., police charged him with sexual assault and assault last week after they responded to a 911 call from a house in the city, arrested Sen. Brazeau, and held him in jail overnight.
After the charges were laid the next morning, Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) ordered Sen. Brazeau’s expulsion from the Conservative caucus and, following the Senate vote to keep him out of the Senate Chamber and Senate committees for an undetermined time, the Senate’s powerful Internal Economy, Budget and Administration Committee will decide on Thursday whether he will have any access to Senate resources.
Sen. Brazeau will continue to receive his $132,000 annual salary, and he is expected to be able to keep an office staff. He is set to appear in court again on March 22.
Sen. Brazeau is also one of several Senators under scrutiny over allegations they have been claiming up to $21,000 a year for living expenses while in Ottawa, despite evidence and allegations they spend most of their time in the nation’s capital or within 100 kilometres of the city, and are not permanent residents in the provinces they represent.
The Senate called in the accounting firm Deloitte to conduct a forensic audit of the expense and residency claims, and Senate Government Leader Marjory LeBreton announced this week any Senators who falsely claimed travel and living expenses in Ottawa will have to repay the money.
Prince Edward Island Senator and former CTV Hill journalist Mike Duffy is, along with Sen. Brazeau, one of the high-profile cases, with evidence he did not have a provincial health card in Prince Edward Island or pay the island province’s permanent-resident property tax rates.
Liberal Sen. Mac Harb is also in the spotlight, facing allegations he claims a permanent residency in the Ottawa Valley outside Ottawa, even though he owns several properties in Ottawa.
CTV reported on Tuesday that Saskatchewan Conservative Sen. Pamela Wallin, who is along with Sen. Brazeau and Sen. Duffy, one of Mr. Harper’s most high-profile appointments, is also under the scrutiny of the Deloitte audit.
Potential for greater fallout from the Deloitte investigation increased on Wednesday, when the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Liberal Senator James Cowan, told reporters if any wrongdoing is discovered, the Senate will refer it to the police.
He said repercussions would not be limited to repayment of expenses.
“That’s the first step,” senator Cowan said. “What we said is that’s got to be done, but if there is suspected fraud, that will be referred to the authorities, absolutely, no question.”
Sen. Cowan referred questions about the scope and mandate of the Deloitte investigation to Conservative Sen. David Tkachuk.
But Sen. Tkachuk walked past journalists on his way into the Senate, and did not respond to a note from a Hill Times reporter asking him to come outside for an interview.
Original Article
Source: hilltimes.com
Author: Tim Naumetz
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