The reputation of the Senate, subterranean to begin with, plunged to yet new depths in the past year. No need for much detail. Expense-account abuses. Embarrassing revelations from the Duffy trial. Senators found to be heel-clicking lackeys of the Prime Minister's Office etc.
But as the standing of our house of ridicule scrapes rock bottom, along come signs of hope.
Seven new appointments were made to the Red Chamber last week without the usual outcry that they were just a bunch of party hacks being awarded for past services. In fact, it was generally conceded they were eminently qualified people. That's not to say they didn't have a liberal bent; you wouldn't confuse any of them with flame-throwing righties. But, by comparison with past slates of Senate nominations, this group is an improvement. The method by which they were chosen left a lot to be desired. But it was more at arm's-length than customary. That, too, is an improvement.
On the Senate-expenses fracas, it's turning out that it isn't the scandal many made it out to be. The RCMP recently decided not to pursue criminal investigations against 24 of 30 current or former senators whose expenses were flagged by the Auditor-General. Additionally, a former Supreme Court justice announced Monday that he has significantly reduced the amount owed by senators who challenged the A-G's findings on alleged overbilling. As for Mike Duffy, his legal team tore holes in much of the Crown's case against him.
An important development sees the Senate now enjoying a degree of independence from the PMO it has not had in a long while. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's decision to strip past Liberal senators of their party status means they can vote counter to the party line without fear of recriminations. To be sure, most of the senators still call themselves Liberals and will heed the government's direction. But having no formal party attachment in the chamber is an improvement over the busboy partisanship that existed previously.
We need to recall, for example, that back in Pierre Trudeau's time, senator Keith Davey used to run Liberal election campaigns out of his Senate office. Justin Trudeau's team will have a government representative in the chamber to facilitate the trajectory of legislation. That person is Peter Harder, whose background has seen him serve Conservatives and most recently Liberals. Mr. Harder is erudite, has wide-ranging experience in government and is a well-respected choice to perform this function.
Another positive development sees debates in the Senate, long ignored by a media accustomed to focusing mainly on ethical controversies involving senators, finally getting some attention. It flows from Mr. Trudeau's decision, unprecedented in modern times, to allow his cabinet ministers to be interrogated in the Senate. In the previous Conservative government, cabinet members often weren't allowed to be interrogated in the Commons, never mind the Senate. The extent of PMO control of the Senate – samples being the hush money payout by Nigel Wright and the whitewashing of a Senate committee report related to the Duffy matter – was revealed during the Duffy trial. From that standpoint, the trial performed a public service. We're unlikely to see this type of thing happen again for a long time.
While there are several positive signs, it is too early in the Trudeau stewardship to draw firm conclusions. The Senate still faces a major rebuilding job. For all the Liberals' good intentions, big tests have yet to come. With the Conservatives still holding a majority in the chamber, much havoc could be in the offing. Conservative MP John Brassard says what the Liberals are doing fails to constitute real change. "People either want to abolish the Senate or they want an elected Senate."
Mr. Brassard is right on that score. But since attempts at such solutions have failed, we have to go with what we've got. With what we've got there are at least some signs of progress.
Lawrence Martin