Red Chamber’s ‘Unelected Majority’ Hijacks Important Legislation

June 20, 2007

As Chief Government Whip, I commend MPs from all political parties in the House of Commons as this summer recess begins. Despite vast partisan differences that will never allow us to agree on many issues, we did succeed in negotiating passage of some priority government legislation.

Of course, none of us, including Liberals MPs, expected that the Liberal “unelected majority” in the Senate would attempt to undo our hard work in a self-promoting campaign of obstructionism.

Yet, these unelected, unaccountable Liberal Senators are now blocking the very legislation that your elected MPs spent weeks and months examining, debating and even amending. In the past few weeks, all MPs stepped-up efforts to pass important legislation like Bill C-52, the Budget Implementation Act, Bill C-22, Age of Protection, and Bill C-10, gun crimes legislation.

While these bills have cleared the House of Commons, they are not yet law because they are languishing in the Senate.

If the Senate does not pass the budget, certain individuals, provinces, and non-profit organizations, that are waiting to get on with time-sensitive plans anchored on commitments in Bill C-52, will be affected.

Almost $4-billion in benefits to Canadians are in jeopardy, including more than $1- billion in new healthcare funding to the provinces to reduce wait times; $1.5-billion in clean air funding projects; $225 million for the Nature Conservancy of Canada to preserve and protect environmentally sensitive lands; and, $30-million in funding for the Rick Hansen Foundation's Spinal Cord Injury Translational Research Network.

The Senate is also blocking Bill C-22, which raises the age of sexual consent from 14 to 16 in order to protect children from sexual predators. I know that many constituents strongly support this legislation and tens of thousands of Canadians wrote their elected MPs to ask for its speedy passage. Your democratic advocacy was successful and the House of Commons passed the Bill on May 4th. Now, unelected Liberal Senators are refusing to support it!

Another justice reform the Senate is refusing to pass is Bill C-10, which targets organized crime and gangs by imposing tougher mandatory penalties on those who use a firearm to commit crimes.

Typically, the Liberals, NDP and Bloc steadfastly oppose most of our justice legislation, including our legislation to scrap the long-gun registry (which I was pleased we had the opportunity to debate this week). This resistance to justice reforms makes the negotiated passage of Bill C-22 and Bill C-10 all the more rewarding … yet all the more frustrating because they are stalled in the Senate.

It is increasingly obvious that other Conservative Government legislation may be more urgent than previously thought. Bill C-43, which proposes to give Canadians a direct voice in the selection of Senators, and Bill S-4, which limits Senators’ terms to eight years, would certainly help to address this display of obstructionism!

Ironically, this unelected Liberal majority in the Senate may be the very catalyst that re-fuels demands for Senate reform – a Senate that is accountable to Canadians!