This is not a political blog, nor will it become one, but:
Stephen Harper appoints senators
“Stephen Harper keeps telling Canadians to tighten their belts,” said NDP democratic reform critic David Christopherson. “But these 18 unelected senators will cost the taxpayer over $6 million a year. When will the Conservatives start practising what they preach?”
Stephen Harper has officially appointed Thomas Cromwell of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court, bypassing a parliamentary hearing process [Harper] has championed to more openly scrutinize nominees.
I suspect he did this stuff now so that Rick Mercer couldn’t pounce on it.
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OK, for you non-Canadians, here’s a quick reference card:
Stephen Harper is the Prime Minister of Canada. He is the leader of a minority government, which means that his party got less than 50% of the seats in Parliament, but more than any other party. (We’ve got 5 parties with seats in Parliament.) Part of his campaign, part of his essence, is Senate reform: the establishment of a Senate that’s elected, not appointed. Apparently he’s not quite so dedicated to that ideal as we all thought.
Rick Mercer is a political comedian. He has a weekly show, currently on a Christmas hiatus, wherein he rants about the foibles of the Canadian government. I can’t wait to see what he’s got to say on this topic.
The last time Harper did a volte-face on his policy, here’s what we got:
So yeah. I’m laughing at Harper, and crying too.