“There are no more Liberal senators,” Trudeau told reporters Wednesday, minutes after breaking the news to the senators that they would have to sit as independents and have no formal ties to the party.
That means they will no longer be allowed to attend national caucus meetings, participate in party strategy sessions, serve as fundraisers and organizers, or rely on the party for support, his office said.
Yet only a short time later, the affected senators emerged from a closed-door meeting to reiterate their allegiance to the party and Trudeau, and to insist they remain committed Liberals.
“We are the Senate Liberal caucus and I will remain the leader of the opposition and we will remain the official opposition in the Senate,” said Nova Scotia Sen. James Cowan, who had been Liberal Senate Leader.
“I’m not a former Liberal senator,” Cowan added. “I’m a Liberal.”
Cowan added that most of his colleagues already acted independently, and so “I think not a lot will change.”
Prime Minister Stephen Harper pounced on the apparent contradiction after Trudeau asked in the House of Commons whether the Conservatives would be following his party’s lead.
“I gather the change announced by the leader today is that unelected Liberal senators will become unelected senators who happen to be Liberal,” Harper said.
The prime minister also cited Cowan’s comment about not expecting much to change, saying: “That has to be the understatement of the year.”
Government Senate leader Claude Carignan described the situation as “business as usual” after several of the senators affected by Trudeau’s announcement rose in the upper chamber and declared themselves proud Liberal members in a bid to keep their status as official opposition.
Trudeau had hinted last spring that he was looking at changing the way senators are appointed, but several sources said there were no consultations or warnings before Wednesday’s announcement. That left the 32 scrambling to understand where the change left them.
The affected senators presented a united front when talking to reporters, saying the change would usher in a new era of independence and non-partisanship in the upper chamber.
“I’m feeling the best I’ve felt in years,” Newfoundland and Labrador Sen. George Baker said. “This is a momentous occasion for the Senate. Because this de-politicizes an institution that’s got to be de-politicized.”
But they also insisted they would remain Liberal senators in spirit as well as name despite Trudeau calling them “formerly Liberal senators.”
However, there was clear concern among the group of 32 senators that being labelled a group of independents would cost them their standing as the official opposition, which would reduce their influence as well as the resources made available to them.
The fact the vast majority are also long-time card-carrying Liberals, which remains unchanged despite being ousted from the Liberal caucus, also complicates matters. Many of the senators said they still plan to attend next month’s Liberal policy convention in Montreal, where they will be allowed to vote on resolutions.
They also plan to help out during the 2015 federal election.
“We’re going to stay very involved and work very hard in the election in 2015 and make Mr. Trudeau the prime minister,” said Nova Scotia Sen. Terry Mercer.
Trudeau’s office also said it would not cut off informal communication between Liberal MPs and affected senators, many of whom have friends and acquaintances throughout the party.
NDP leader Tom Mulcair described Trudeau’s decision as “better late than never.”
“But why stop at 32?” he said. “We want to get rid of the Senate altogether.”
Mulcair also wondered why Trudeau was acting now, noting that on Oct. 23 the NDP proposed the same idea, which the Liberals shot down. The NDP itself has no senators.
The decision to kick senators out of the Liberal caucus comes after a year in which several high-profile senators came under fire for their expense claims.
The Senate suspended Conservatives Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin and Patrick Brazeau in late 2013, and a sweeping auditor general’s probe is under way into Senate expenses.
Some have questioned whether the Liberal leader is trying to pre-emptively put distance between himself and the red chamber in advance of that potentially explosive auditor general’s report.
But the Liberal leader said he had no knowledge of any findings from the auditor general, adding: “This is about changing the nature of the Senate away from being a place of partisanship and patronage and improving its capacity to serve Canadians in a way that they expect to be served.”
NDP MP and House Leader Nathan Cullen said the Liberal leader’s announcement wouldn’t protect Trudeau from any embarrassing revelations that might surface from the auditor general’s probe.
Quebec Sen. Dennis Dawson, who has served the Liberal party for decades, said that the Senate could improve if its members have more independence from party leaders trying to dictate what they can say or support.
But he said he didn’t like the process Trudeau used to make his decision.
“It was a little bit embarrassing to be caught by surprise, having joined the Liberal party in the ’60s, having been an elected member of Parliament in the mid-’70s and having participated in every campaign since I’ve been able to vote,” Dawson told Postmedia News.
“Getting ejected from the parliamentary caucus was a bit of a surprise, but I do believe in the long term it is in the interests of both the party and the Senate.”
Dawson added that he didn’t know how the party would ask him to serve it in the future, noting that he was in the midst of planning a February Liberal caucus in his home town of Quebec City, but somebody else would have to do that now.
“I was mad this morning, I’m not mad any more,” Dawson said. “Had I been an adviser to the leader of the opposition, I would have given him the same advice. The Senate will be a better institution if it’s more independent.”
Ontario Sen. Jim Munson admitted there was “a pit in the bottom of my stomach” upon learning the news. “There was anger and surprise.” But he said after those feelings had passed, he decided to continue working for many of the causes he has long championed as a senator, such as raising autism awareness.
One senator said some colleagues, as well as senators’ staff, felt “abandoned” by the party.
After Trudeau told the senators in a closed-door morning meeting that he was dumping them from caucus, many reportedly expressed anger, disappointment and concern, though others were apparently happy with the move.
They agreed to present a united front so they wouldn’t hurt the party, and to prevent the Conservatives and NDP from using the situation for political gain, a source said.
The senators are to meet again Thursday to figure out how to work as an effective independent caucus.
– With files from Jordan Press, Tobi Cohen, Andrea Hill, Mike De Souza and Jason Fekete, Postmedia News
Original Article
Source: ottawacitizen.com/
Author: LEE BERTHIAUME
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