I have been thinking about what a non-political from of representative government might look like and whether it could be considered democratic or not. One model came to mind, a Council One Hundred that would set policy, provide Cabinet Ministers and oversee the government administration. With 50 peoples representatives chosen
Continue readingTag: Senate Reform
Alberta Politics: U.S. election exposes ‘Triple-E’ Senate myth once and for all as a democratic disaster
Does anyone recall the Reform Party of Canada’s campaign starting in the late 1980s to impose on our country a “Triple-E Senate” – that is to say elected, effective, and, above all, “equal”? Pushed by the likes of Calgary-area farmer Bert Brown and would-be philosopher king Preston Manning, this call
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: So long, Senate Nominee Elections!
The Senatorial Selection Act, the law that governs Alberta’s unique Senate nominee elections, expires on Dec. 31, 2016. With the current session of the Legislature expected to end at the end of this week, it is unlikely the law will be renewed…. Continue Reading →
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Reforming Senate
If Meech Lake had passed, the Senate would have been reformed. Ken Whyte writes that Peter Lougheed understood just how radically the Red Chamber would have been transformed: Mr. Lougheed was a great careerist as well as a great politician, and he had thought about Senate reform with both career
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Owning A Cottage Is Not Enough
In the wake of the Duffy affair, Errol Mendes writes, the Senate has begun reforming itself:The Senate to which Mr. Duffy returns is, in a multitude of ways, much different from the chamber from which he was suspended. The Senate leadership, in parti…
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: On Senate Reform – Harper’s Way
Earlier this week, Stephen Harper basically tried to make Senate Reform in Canada the province’s problem to sort out. More or less, he said that he wasn’t going to appoint any more senators until the provinces come up with a plan to reform or abolish the Senate. Harper has finally
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: On Senate Reform – Harper’s Way
Earlier this week, Stephen Harper basically tried to make Senate Reform in Canada the province’s problem to sort out. More or less, he said that he wasn’t going to appoint any more senators until the provinces come up with a plan to reform or abolish the Senate. Harper has finally
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: On Senate Reform – Harper’s Way
Earlier this week, Stephen Harper basically tried to make Senate Reform in Canada the province’s problem to sort out. More or less, he said that he wasn’t going to appoint any more senators until the provinces come up with a plan to reform or abo…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Smoke, mirrors, and Harper’s senate moratorium #nlpoli #cdnpoli
Heading into an election and with the three major federal parties within five or six points of each other in the opinion polls, the Prime Minister has decided that this is the time to talk about reforming the senate. Stephen Harper said last week that he will not make any
Continue readingA BCer in Toronto: Ignore the shiny Senate distraction: It really is the economy, and Harper things you’re stupid
The National Post‘s John Ivison makes a good living floating trial balloons and framing announcements on behalf of The Harper Government, so his offering Thursday night certainly got the attention of official Ottawa: Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall are expected to appear together Friday to call
Continue readingA BCer in Ottawa: Ignore the shiny Senate distraction: It really is the economy, and Harper things you’re stupid
The National Post’s John Ivison makes a good living floating trial balloons and framing announcements on behalf of The Harper Government, so his offering Thursday night certainly got the attention of official Ottawa:Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Sa…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Brad Wall’s case for abolishing Premiers #cdnpoli #nlpoli
Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall thinks that making the senate an elected institution that better reflects Canadians is too hard. Rather than reform the senate, Wall wants to get rid of it altogether. Wall thinks that the provincial Premiers should do the job currently done by the senate. Here’s why no
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: Harper Tries To Foment A Crisis
Harper has taken a surprising number of losing cases to the Supreme Court of Canada. Most, if not all, were obviously places where the government’s position is one that is in direct contradiction with the Constitution of Canada. Even a relative neophyte in Constitutional law in Canada can spot that,
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: Mr. Harper: Can You Even Read?
If I didn’t know better, I’d swear that Harper doesn’t know how to read a legal decision. Yesterday, in Question Period, Harper said the following: “The Supreme Court has ruled in its wisdom that the federal government can neither abolish the Senate nor, in fact, can the federal government actually
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: A Failed Puppet Master?
In a withering assessment of Stephen Harper, that is the conclusion Andrew Coyne seems to draw in his National Post column: We are so heavily invested, we media types, in the notion of Harper as master strategist, able to see around corners and think seven moves ahead and what not,
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: Worth repeating on the Supreme Court Senate ruling
As those of you who follow politics in Canada know, the Supreme Court of Canada told Stephen Harper on Friday that if he wanted to either reform (7 provinces/50% of pop) or abolish (unanimity + Senate agreement) the Senate, he needed to do something he hates doing – build a
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Incredible Humiliation of Stephen Harper and Pierre Poilievre
Golly. I don't know who looked more more beaten or more pathetic today, Stephen Harper or Pierre Poilievre. It was too close to call.But what is certain is that both were humiliated beyond belief.Harper slapped in the face by the Supreme Court, and sent crashing to the canvas. Stephen Harper
Continue readingDon’t give up on the Senate, Mr. Harper
It wouldn’t be surprising if Prime Minister Harper was in a bit of a funk over the Supreme Court’s decision on the Senate this week. The Court unanimously rejected his government’s attempt to transform the Senate into an elected body and to set term limits, saying that such basic changes
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: What The Senate Ruling Says About Harper
The Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling on the Senate Reform questions that Harper put to them last year came out today. The ruling itself is not terribly surprising, but what is more interesting is Harper’s reaction. Harper said he had no option left after the high court concluded that no
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