I read an article by my old professor of Canadian Politics, Peter Russell, about Senate reform. He wouldn’t remember me, on account of there were 1000 students in the class, and he had tutorial leaders.

Also, I might have dropped it. I can’t remember.

Also, it’s not true that I read the article. I read a blog post about the article.

Also, that’s an exaggeration about reading the blog post. I read the title of the blog post, then I saw a link, so I clicked on the link, and then I read the title of the article. But just as I was closing the link I noticed that Peter Russell was the expert being quoted.

Ah, I thought, that was a bird course, Canadian Politics 100. I think. Or did I drop it?

And since I already knew what he would say in the quote, not because I remember his course, but because this debate is held in the media every time a Senator gets caught acting like a Cabinet minister, I didn’t bother reading the quote, either.

I’m guessing Peter Russell is saying we can’t just abolish the Senate.

(By the way, it looks to be fairly easy to turf a Senator if even the Senate is appalled by a Senator’s behaviour, so there’s that, at least.)

I know that because all my life I’ve heard, “Abolish the Senate”, followed by, “We can’t just abolish the Senate”. So I figure there must be a reason why we can’t just abolish the Senate. And there is, and it amounts to a Constitutional reason, and that Constitutional reason is, “we can’t just abolish the Senate”.

Heh – too bad somebody didn’t think to abolish the Senate before we patriated the Constitution, eh? All those years with no Constitution to bind us and nobody thought to take advantage and abolish the Senate.

And now that the Conservative Party has it stuffed to the rafters with its bagmen, fuhgeddabouddit.

We can’t abolish the Senate because it’s important for every democratic body to be overseen by an undemocratic one.

And if you think it’s bad now, just imagine how bad it would be if it was elected. Because here’s a report by the unelected Senate:

http://www.cannabisfacts.ca/senatereportquotes.html

And here’s a politician elected to the House of Commons holding forth with regard to the report:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2002/09/05/pot_harper020905.html

Sorry, eh, future taxpayers, but I’m with the experts, “we can’t just abolish the Senate”.

Besides, it could be worse, it could be an elected one.

1. 

   Morley Bolero

   February 18, 2013 at 8:26 pm

   Being appointed to the Senate is one of my retirement plans, next to winning 6/49. Unless I get appointed Pope first, then I’m set. Maybe i’ll aim for all three. I wonder what the odds of that trifecta are?
2. 

   Sooey

   February 19, 2013 at 2:52 pm

   I don’t buy lottery tickets because I’m on track for Freedom 85. You know, the Senate has done some very good reports over the years. It’d be nice if we could have a group of intelligent older people conducting research, etc, informing politicians of the facts of life. Why does everything have to be such a stupid boondoggle?