We’re just one day away from the House coming back for a short, budget-focused sitting. This is just as well as it will give MPs the summer to get accustomed to their new offices and staff and, in some cases, actually visit their ridings. As for that budget, Flaherty says he’s not going to be changing any of his fiscal projections. Good to know.
Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter joins the list of premiers opposed to Harper’s unilateral Senate-reform plans. As well he should. Dexter also suggested that Julian Fantino’s role is to protect MacKay politically when it comes to naval procurement, which is a good theory.
Also opposed to the Senate reform bills is Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. He went a step further to say that reform is impossible, so we should just abolish it. *Sigh* Seriously, guys? The whole conversation has degenerated to the point of people saying, “I don’t understand it or know what it does, so let’s just mutilate or get rid of it and hope for the best.” Seriously. This is not an adult conversation about our democratic institutions and is a demonstration of civic illiteracy on the part of our political leaders. Not cool. At all.
Apparently, the NDP is evicting many Liberals from their Centre Block offices – even those who have held them for years. Stéphane Dion will be allowed to keep his because of his former position as party leader. Yes, this is the politics of civility, apparently, and isn’t petty at all.
And here’s a terribly flawed study that looks at civility in the House. It focuses solely on question period (a mere 45 minutes out of any given day) and is based on recorded text and video rather than actually being there to experience it. (There is a vast difference between seeing the exchange in person and reading it in Hansard or watching it on CPAC.) The finding is that Jack Layton is one of the rudest MPs out there, which doesn’t quite match reality. So, if you want to read more on civility in the House, which accompanies this terrible data, here it is. For a much better discussion on the topic, I’d suggest you read Aaron Wherry’s thoughts here.
Why you can trust Xtra
