I’m not found of believing in miracles, but imagine for a second that one happens and after 2015 we have either a NDP or Liberal majority, or even some coalition arrangement of the two.
Either case will be better then what we have now, obviously, but in either case we’re still stuck with these schmucks in our chamber of “sober second thought.”
Some of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s newly-appointed senators are emerging as global-warming skeptics in the wake of aggressive government positions to abandon the Kyoto Protocol, slam environmentalists and downplay potential damage caused by Canadian oil and gas exploration.
“I felt like it is kind of an insult to be a denier for a long time,” said Sen. Bert Brown, last month at a parliamentary committee studying energy policies. “It feels pretty good this morning.”
…
“I have to admit that what I read tells me that there is not a consensus among scientists,” [Senator Nancy] Greene Raine, another senator appointed by Harper, told the committee when it heard from Environment Minister Peter Kent, earlier last fall. “There are many different points of view and different kinds of research happening out there. One of the things that I am starting to see now is quite a few studies showing that we may be heading into a period of global cooling, which would maybe be a lot more problematic for Canada than global warming. Our country is on the cool side.”
Imagine for a second that a progressive government gets in to the House of Commons and passes the Jack Layton Climate Change Accountability Act. Once again, we’ll have to suffer through this ineffectual body blocking the legislation that could actually put some science-based targets on our emissions.
The only thing that may save our country is Harper’s own Senate-reform legislation that may force these senators to resign after 9 years.
Of course, then we may run into the situation where the senators realize the law has no teeth without a constitutional amendment and they refuse to step aside.
I don’t have much else to add. Basically we’re screwed.
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Given the woeful state of both opposition parties today Canadians will have to look outside Parliament in dealing with Harper. In British Columbia, for example, a nascent but widespread resistance is building against the Northern Gateway pipeline/supertanker venture that’s being rammed down our throats. I expect you’ll see some very prominent decision-shapers, scientists, academics and other notables joining together with other fine, law-abiding citizens and the First Nations to stand against this even if that means risking prosecution. Let Harper start throwing masses of law abiding citizens into his prisons. See how far he gets. That’s the sort of thing we have to do when Parliament so fails the Canadian people.
Harper won’t be throwing masses of law abiding citizens into his prisons. He’ll be throwing only the law breaking citizens into his prisons.
cheers
I used to fear this until I did some research. The senate can’t legally block any legistlation that is a bill of confidence, such as money bills. A government can designate what ever legislation they want as confidence vote.
Do you honestly think the system would be set up with no way to break a commons vs. senate deadlock?
Commons has to have the power to trump the senate otherwise it would not count as a democracy, we’d be a less religious Iran.
Yup you’re screwed. Give up.