To bring in the new year, Harper decided to break one more promise. In Canada, we have the Senate (“Upper House”) and the House of Commons (“Lower House”). The Senate is composed of individuals who were selected by the Prime Minister, whereas the House of Commons is filled by the MPs who were elected by the few Canadians who decided to show up to the polls. Over the last few years, Harper has been trying to make it so that when seats are vacated (by someone reaching the age of 75, resigning, dying, etc…) in the Senate, future positions will be filled via an election rather than an appointment. Harper even introduced a bill into the House of Commons to achieve this purpose. In the party’s 2006 platform, the Conservatives lashed out at the Liberal Party for abusing the power to appoint people and for appointing “insiders.” They then promised a number of changes that would be made if elected to reform the Senate appointment/election process – none of which have ever occurred. Now, just a few days ago, Harper decided to go against every single thing he stood for with regards to the Senate.

Earlier this week, Harper appointed 18 new people to the Senate. First of all, given Harper’s “dedication and commitment” to reforming our Senate so that it is more democratic, one would have expected Harper to wait until the prorogation period is over. Then, if his government is still in power, he could appoint senators. It is certainly unfair that a Prime Minister who may not even have his job anymore once the prorogation is over, still has the nerve to make these appointments.

Second, if he truly believes in Senate reform and thinks the Liberals acted despicably when they made patronage appointments, why does he go ahead and do the same thing? Harper selected 18 people, of which an overwhelming majority are either defeated Conservative MPs, people who have had a role in the party (advisor, organizer, etc.), or have provided funding to the party. Sure, all of the other Prime Ministers in the past have made appointments of mostly people who have shown them support, but does this mean Harper should follow suit? Should he abandon his beliefs because everyone else has done the same? It certainly shows a lot about the man when he can not even act on his own values and ideals.

If Harper had any brain on his shoulders, he would certainly refrain from taking such hypocritical actions, especially when his future job is up in the air.

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Tags: conservative, harper, house, liar, Senate

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