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senate
Key Senate post up for grabs, but Tories take a pass
By Jennifer Ditchburn, CPOTTAWA — The Conservatives have passed up a chance to seize control of a key Senate committee that they regularly attack for stalling or watering down government bills.
Now that the Tories hold more seats in the upper chamber than the Liberals, they can reconfigure committees to reflect their new power.
But instead of taking the chair of the legal and constitutional affairs committee, which has been examining hot-button crime bills, they left that job to Liberal Senator Joan Fraser.
Tories "dropped ball" on selling prorogation: Duffy, PEI Senator also rules out legalizing marijuana and proportional representation
By Desmond Devoy, Ottawa East EMCEMC News - Senator Mike Duffy has admitted that the Harper government "dropped the ball," in explaining the reasons behind its decision to prorogue Parliament.
While the House of Commons has resumed sitting this week for the first time since December, with both a Speech from the Throne and a budget scheduled to be delivered, Senator Duffy felt that the Conservative government could have done a better job selling its decision to suspend parliament.
Read more »RCMP to test uniform-mounted cameras
Tonda MacCharles Ottawa Bureau The StarRCMP needs stronger oversight: Liberals
By LAURA PAYTON, Calgary SunOTTAWA – The RCMP must face an agency that can independently review its officers' conduct, subpoena witnesses and lay charges if necessary, six Liberal senators say in a position paper released Monday.
The senators, led by former National Security and Defence committee chair Colin Kenny, say RCMP Commissioner William Elliott's plan to refer serious cases to federal or provincial oversight bodies, announced Feb. 4, is “full of half-measures that won’t do the job.”
“The RCMP is now at a watershed point that will determine whether the reform process falters or gains steam,” the senators write in the report's introduction. Read more »
By Senate poised to call for major RCMP overhaul
Report expected to be the last from security committee led by Liberal Colin KennyDaniel Leblanc, Globe and Mail
As their domination of the Senate comes to an end, the Liberals are set to call for major changes to the RCMP in a “position paper” that the Conservatives are already depicting as anti-Mountie.
In what is likely his last stint as the chair of the Senate committee on national security, Liberal Senator Colin Kenny and his colleagues will offer their remedies for what ails the national police force.
With Senate in his grip, PM drives crime agenda
By Gloria Galloway and Ddaniel Leblan, Globe and MailThe appointment of five new Conservative senators who promise to expedite their party's “tough on crime” agenda marks a realignment of political influence that will reverberate through Canada's Parliament for years to come.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has placed what could become a long-term lock on the upper house with a third straight round of Conservative appointments to a Senate that he has accused of being deliberately obstructionist – particularly on justice bills.
Reality Check: Conservatives offer up phony excuse for Senate appointments
Federal NDP Press Release
Today, the Harper Conservatives are trying to cover up Stephen Harper’s latest broken promise to never appoint Senators with the excuse that these five new Conservatives will help advance their justice bills.
But the reality is that the Conservative Party has done more to frustrate their own so-called “crime agenda” through repeated prorogations than anyone else.
Today’s Conservative press release says:
"The Prime Minister's action has not only brought additional talent and expertise to the Senate; it has greatly strengthened our efforts to move forward on our tackling-crime agenda."
The Facts
When it prorogued the House of Commons in December, the Prime Minister killed 15 of his own justice bills.
Read more »Harper names 5 to Senate
CBC NewsPrime Minister Stephen Harper has named five new senators, including former Ontario cabinet minister Bob Runciman, giving the Tories effective control in both houses of Parliament and greater sway over the legislative agenda.
Vim Kochhar, a businessman and disabled persons advocate, was also appointed for Ontario.
The other appointments were:
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Victims rights activist Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu for Quebec.
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Former provincial auditor general Elizabeth Marshall for Newfoundland and Labrador.
Senate hardly the biggest obstacle to Tory crime bills
By Gloria Galloway, Globe and MailPrime Minister Stephen Harper said in an interview Tuesday night with the CBC’s Peter Mansbridge that the Liberal-dominated Senate has been blocking Conservative government legislation.
“We obviously can’t get our legislation through,” Mr. Harper responded when asked why he has reversed his decision not to appoint Senators. “What the Senate is blocking isn't just government crime legislation, it's blocking Senate reform legislation.”
Well, no.
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