Tories Whining About Senate ... Again

Okay, PMSH, you don't like the Senate - probably because you can't control it with the same micromanager's approach you bring to your party's attempts at governance. I think the public get that already.

The latest hissy fit you are throwing about bill C-2 is utterly ridiculous.

First, let's take a look at a couple of things here. The criticism the government is making is that the Senate is "delaying" the bill.

Then there's reality, as shown by the status history of the bill on the House of Commons LegisInfo system:

First reading in the Senate was November 29, 2007.
Second reading in the Senate was December 12, 2007.

According to the Senate's calendar for 2007, the Senate rose for Christmas break on December 21, and resumed January 29, 2008.

The first hearings of the Senate Committee took place on February 6, 2008. Again, one might look at this and wonder what was happening. As it turns out, at the time, the Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs was working on Bill C-11, which had been referred to the Senate on October 29.

In short, Bill C-2 was "in the queue". The fact that Harper tried to ram it through the House of Commons (and when you consider that the legislation is a rehash of five other very badly worded pieces of law, one might be just a little suspicious of the short time it spent in the House of Commons).

Dion is quite right to say that his members will abstain from voting on this motion. It is little more than a poorly thought out attempt on Harper's part to get his way by bullying. What we are learning here is not that the Senate is the problem, but rather that Harper is incapable of the kind of negotiation and compromise that has long been a key to success in our parliament.