The Prime Minister, who lost the confidence of the House of Commons and suspended Parliament to avoid defeat, continues to manipulate Canadian institutions with Christmas just days away.

Stephen Harper appointed 18 senators after loudly proclaiming his contempt for the Senate and giving his word that he would never make these very same appointments. He especially hopes they will toe the line. Unless he is able to muzzle the Senate through reform that would place the Upper Chamber under his thumb, he will not hesitate to plunge the country back into a political and constitutional crisis to abolish the Senate, thereby masking the real problems of poverty, unemployment, education, integration, etc.

Do we need a reminder that the Prime Minister is not a sovereign? That he is not above the law or above the Constitution?

Of course, Steven Fletcher, the Minister of State for pseudo Democratic Reform, will propose that senators be elected by the public for a shortened, renewable mandate of eight years, with no age limit. It bears repeating what the vast majority of experts in constitutional law have stated before parliamentary committees: the federal Conservative government cannot make substantial changes to the Senate without the approval of the provinces. Liberal senators want Senate reform that respects the British North America Act and will not have any part in this mockery of the democratic process.

It is not the appointment of new senators that is so detestable. It is the reason why this series of appointments was made. Stephen Harper made these partisan appointments with a single stated goal: to undermine the Upper Chamber and the entire Canadian parliamentary system, which would ideally mimic that of the United States.

Partisan appointments? Yes. To the government, they are but crass patronage appointments for Conservatives who share the same ideological leanings as their leader. To Stephen Harper, these men and women are more soldiers in a commando mission than senators. Let’s hope that our 18 new colleagues will be able to show independent thought and act with respect toward our institutions and in the interest of Canadians.

It is unfortunate, but not surprising, that only 5 of the 18 new senators are women. The regressive Prime Minister has always wanted women to stay at home!

While the Prime Minister recently denounced separatist support for the coalition in a statement in front of the Governor General’s residence, adding a national unity crisis to the economic and political crisis, he has just created a historic precedent by appointing a former péquiste, Michel Rivard, to the Senate.

Is it the height of cynicism to discredit the Senate by making weak appointments? Or is it, as a Conservative observer in the Globe & Mail of December 23 pointed out, a strategy to appoint people who are not “luminaries,” thereby justifying efforts for Senate reform?

While many legal experts question the legitimacy of these appointments by a Prime Minister on borrowed time because of his lack of courage and judgment, the Prime Minister can expect a concerted effort by Liberal senators when Parliament resumes to fully study bills that are sent to the Senate and ensure that the rights of all Canadians are protected while respecting our Constitution.

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