Thread by @sunnshiiny

The privilege to appoint senators is the exclusive right of the Governor General. The privilege to recommend names for consideration is the exclusive right of the sitting PM.

Always has been. Nothing has changed.

https://twitter.com/Jantafrench/status/1404834655262629900

Whether you support a bicameral system or a unicameral one is irrelevant. Your opinion matters not in the immediate situation.

However, it should be noted that unicameral systems are notoriously more autocratic than bicameral systems.

For evidence of this phenomenon, one need only look at Canada’s provincial legislatures, which are unicameral (a legislature with no senate) and review the quality of legislation made by majority held governments over the past decade, regardless of party.

What this pointless waste of tax dollars represents is the UCP encroaching on federal purview. In an attempt to block appointments to the senate for positions vacant in the Alberta portfolio.

Since the senate is exclusively a federal government body, premiers have no influence.

It’s inappropriate and a severely gross overreach of provincial power assertion to attempt to influence the choice in senate candidates.

And those debating about the appropriateness of candidates running for senate are wasting energy debating nonsense.

Understanding the Westminster Parliamentary system is not that difficult.

Read the constitution and educational materials about the different branches of government which are available on line open access for free.

Until you have a grounded understanding of the system Canada uses and why, your opinion is irrelevant.

And if that insults you, tough.

It insults me that people who don’t understand the governance system opine without understanding the implications for the entire population.

There seem to be an abundance of people who believe the senate is a redundant and useless waste of taxpayer dollars.

I will not argue for the perks senators seem to have given themselves, since they are a self governing body.

But the function of the senate is poorly understood by the vast majority of the public.

House of Commons MPs represent individual ridings and the parties they campaign under.

In the past, Senate appointments have been quite partisan as well.

So it’s understandable that partisanship has been the central feature of the senate for decades, if not the vast majority of the history of Canada.

Historically it’s only been populated by representatives from Liberal and Conservative federal parties.

But, senate reform is on the LPC mandate. There are now (and never have been before) three political groups of senators. Conservatives, who caucus with the CPC. Liberals, who DO NOT caucus with LPC, and Independents.

While demagogic populist leaders promise instantaneous change upon their election to a majority, that is not how change actually occurs in a stable democracy. Those familiar with the actual process of change already know this.

Change takes time. Planning time , development of strategy and time to implement.

We have a Senator from Alberta who was recently (in respective terms) appointed to her lifelong position. Senator Paula Simons.

She is neither liberal nor conservative and belongs to the Independent Senate caucus.

She is not overtly partisan, but her history as a journalist in Edmonton for several decades places her within the progressive camp. But her responsibility and loyalty is to Alberta.

She does take national perspective into account, but ultimately makes her senate decisions based on Albertan interests. And in Alberta, that means economic interests are intertwined with fossil fuels and climate change simultaneously.

I’ve watched her mature into a respected and ever thoughtful Senator. Being a story teller, she can’t help herself from documenting her journey. So that’s made watching her transition into her role more accessible and easy to view.

This is the type of changes required in the senate. Appointment of non partisan candidates who consider legislation from all perspectives, not just from a partisan worldview. Senators who take careful consideration of the entire population’s needs from every perspective.

And then make a decision based on what they determine to be the best choice for their province, their nation and ultimately the global community.

People who take their job seriously and put the needs of their region, nation and the global community at the forefront reliably.

Senator Simons has earned my respect and the respect of her fellow senators and many citizens who have followed her documented journey. She has seriously opened the door for the public to witness senate activities.

But the PM cannot use cancel culture to remove previous appointments. He must wait for vacancies due to retirement, resignation or death to provide an opening to make an appointment.

If you’re advocating for either the abolishment of the senate, or senate elections, you’re advocating for either a unicameral system where the executive branch of a majority government dominates (dictates) or for partisan loyalist elections, and that makes you a partisan hack!

So, your opinion is summarily of little value to the changes required to the senate to address systemic change.

Change takes time. There are no magic wands. Only fools believe otherwise. Instant change is analogous to rebellion and instability.

We’ve got 150 years of status quo partisanship to inform us that a fully partisan senate is ineffective.

Can we please give this earnest attempt to reform the senate a chance to work? Changes take time to see results.

In the mean time while we are all waiting for those results to analyze and assess, maybe take the time to actually understand the role of the senate? So you know WTF the implications of your demands for change would do? The change is in progress. You’re demanding they be stopped.

Explaining BASIC concepts of how government works is getting redundant and tedious.

All change agents worthy of the name understand what they’re changing & why.

People who call themselves progressive & demand change for the sake of change are obstructionists, just like cons.

Stop acting like a conservative partisan hack.

If you call yourself progressive, maybe understanding the system you’re advocating to change is essential before you make demands to remove the senate or recommend candidates for false senate elections?

Maybe?