Well, at first blush, I’d say bravo to the Independent Senate Liberal Caucus — the group of Senators, many of them lifelong torchbearers for the Liberal Party of Canada, who were told a month ago they could not longer be part of the same Parliamentary caucus as party leader Justin Trudeau and the elected Liberal parliamentarians.
This group, known as the Independent Senate Liberal Caucus, today put forward their first initiatives to try out their new freedom from the elected caucus. Now, I disagreed with Trudeau’s decision and one of the reasons I did is because senators who are members of a Parliamentary caucus are at least nominally answerable to an elected member of Parliament, i.e. the party leader, and so, if Canadians wish to hold a senator or a group of senators to account for their actions, they can, in theory, do so through that elected leader.
If unelected senators can simply pass laws and carry on regardless and have no elected authority that they must even care about, then that group is even less accountable than before.
Below, I’ve reproduced the press release sent out today by the Independent Senate Liberal Caucus, and I take particular note of steps 1 and 3, steps that go to the “transparency” of some decisions and and actions by these senators. Transparency is the first step, if you ask me, towards accountability. You could argue that without transparency (i.e. information) about a legislature, it would be difficult or impossible for an electorate to hold that legislature accountable.
I wish these senators well with these other initiatives, all of which sound promising …
The Independent Senate Liberal Caucus: Bringing Canadians into Parliament
OTTAWA – The Senate Liberal Caucus today announced five initiatives, arising from its new independence, to do politics differently in the Senate.
“It has now been one month since the announcement by Mr. Trudeau that each of the 32 Liberal Senators would become independent of the elected Liberal Caucus,” said Senator James Cowan, Leader of the Senate Liberal Caucus. “We have an historic opportunity to use our new independence to try, insofar as it is within our power as a minority in the Senate, to make Parliament work better for Canadians – to make it respond to the needs of Canadians, rather than the needs of political parties and their leaders.”
Senator Cowan, Deputy Opposition Leader Joan Fraser, Caucus Whip Jim Munson, and Caucus Chair Grant Mitchell announced five initiatives:
1. Open Caucus: Beginning March 26, the Senate Liberal Caucus will open the doors to certain of their Wednesday caucus meetings. The plan is to hold an Open Caucus on a periodic basis. These meetings will be open to the press and to the public at large. Experts and public leaders will be invited, as will parliamentarians from all parties. The purpose: to focus on an issue of national concern that is not getting sufficient attention in Parliament. The first Open Caucus will bring together concerned Canadians to focus on the issue of Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women.2. Your Question Period: Canadians will be able to provide the Senate Liberal Caucus with questions that they want to ask the government. “This will open up Parliament to our constituents from the regions we represent – it will give Canadians a direct voice, asking the questions they want answered,” said Senator Fraser. Questions will be asked during Senate Question Period by Senators in the name of the Canadian who submitted the question. Those questions may be submitted by clicking on the “Your Question Period” link on liberalsenateforum.ca.
3. Proactive Disclosure: The Senate Liberal Caucus is committed to Proactive Disclosure. Liberal senators’ expenses were previously disclosed on the Liberal Party website. That option is no longer available. Consequently, members of the Senate Liberal Caucus are in discussions with the Senate administration and the Government Leader in the Senate to set up an alternate system to enable senators to make the same level of disclosure available to Canadians on another website.
4. Free Votes: All votes in the Senate will now be free votes for the Senate Liberal Caucus. There will be no more “whipped” votes. The Caucus Whip’s job will now be to ensure that Senate committees have their full complement of members from the Liberal Senate Caucus, and to co-ordinate attendance by members of the caucus in the Senate Chamber and in committee.
5. Equalization: Building on the Senate’s core role of representing the regions, and the Senate’s proven strength in taking on complex and controversial issues of public policy, the Senate Liberal Caucus will begin a national conversation on equalization – on federal-provincial fiscal cooperation. “Equalization is all about what kind of nation we are, and what kind of nation we are building for the future,” said Senator Cowan. “The basic principle, that too often gets lost, is that part of what it means to be Canadian is that wherever you live, from coast to coast to coast, you should expect to be able to access a basic standard of public services, without finding yourself faced with wildly different tax bills for those basic services. Canada is not about firewalls protecting gated communities. It is about Canadians living and working together in a remarkable country.” The current government has instituted a number of changes that many believe threaten to undermine this basic piece of the Canadian social contract. These changes have not received the attention they deserve. The Senate Liberal Caucus wants to kick-start a national conversation on equalization and our fiscal federalism. This will be launched by Senator Cowan with a speech in the Senate on this important issue next week.