Stephen Harper seems to think that if he can’t get his way about reforming the Senate, that it should simply be abolished. Naturally he would think that way, just as Brian Mulroney also thought that way. After all, it has been the Appointed Senate that has stood in the way of some of the most outrageous legislation ever introduced by Bigots who call themselves ‘Conservatives‘.

Mulroney, doing a lot of history revision in his book, likes to think that he is a Great Leader, but it isn’t so. While he might not like Trudeau or Buchard, fact is his greatest legacy is the debacle known as NAFTA. The trade agreement that begun the sellout of Canadian Industry to foreign interests. It was a choice WE the people accepted, but ONLY after our Appointed Senate forced the issue.

It was their blocking such a piece of legislation, when so many were vocally opposing it. It was because of that public outcry, the one that Brian Mulroney IGNORED that forced the Senate to block the treaty, and forced an election on the issue. While Mulroney carried the day, and the legislation passed, the important point to note is that it was the SENATE that gave us the opportunity to decide. Mulroney had a majority, and he was willing to IGNORE the voices in the country. The SENATE was our last hope, and it did its job, and so yes, he wishes it was abolished, just as his latest conservative replacement wants to do now.

Harper suggested that if he can’t reform the upper chamber, he would like to see it disappear from Canada’s parliamentary system. (source)

While there is no doubt that it should be reformed, in regards to representation, and even perhaps length of term, the issue is that if this current situation is so untenable, why then did Stephen Harper use it to get Mr Fortier into his Cabinet? Why did he go against his own rhetoric of the campaign, and his own hatred for this body, to actually go an appoint one of his chief campaign staff to that body? (see comment ‘Let’s Be More Democratic‘)

And that too does bring up one important role the current Senate does serve, one which an elected Senate might not be able to do. That is that it provides the ruling Government to have representation in Cabinet from regions of the country that it cannot fulfill from its members in Parliament. Trudeau availed himself of that, as have other Prime Ministers, including Stephen Harper. So it does serve a useful purpose in just that alone.

Yet Stephen Harper is willing to toss that aside.

If we need any further proof, consider the recent Immigration Debate in the United States. Elected to make changes, the Democrats are in charge, yet they and some Republicans believed it would be good to grant Amnesty to all those millions of Illegal Immigrants. Something a vast overwhelming number of US Citizens oppose, and it came within a hair breath of passing, and why? Because both chambers are ELECTED.

Stephen Harper would like to see an elected Senate in Canada. Just like in the United States, where half is elected in mid-term, the other half at another fixed term. Something he also wishes to have for Parliament, a fixed election term. Neither of these take into account climate, or any other factors. With Voter Apathy (see comment ‘Voter Apathy or Dissatisfaction?‘) growing, adding more elections seems rather stupid. People don’t wanting more elections.

To properly reform the Senate, it is a matter for a constitutional change, something Stephen Harper isn’t willing to even tackle, which begs the question then, of why not? If he is so concerned about improving our Democracy, of making it more like the United States, then why won’t he consult with all the Provinces? Why won’t he discuss the issue in the Open? What is he really hiding?

So much for Transparent Government. Mr Harper is no different that George Bush in his tactics of attack, and deceit. The Senate may indeed be nothing more than members warming their butts, but they have done their job for this country. They are the final backstop, the last check and balance over a government that has run amok. They are the final stop that can insist on forcing a ruling government to seek the will of the people, just as they did in the case of NAFTA.

What is really behind this contempt for the Senate, is that they won’t play dead. They will not rubber stamp his legislation, such as the mandatory sentence guideline, his trade accords such as the Security Prosperity Partnership agreement. That is really why Stephen Harper wants to abolish the Senate, so he can have a free hand at ruining Canada, at making it another State of the USA. He isn’t about governing Canada, nor does he even come close to understanding what this country is about. He is about serving his master, George W. Bush or whoever sits in the White House, not about serving CANADIANS.