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.
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