Will Canada's Senate uphold Trudeau's use of the Emergency Act?
Let's find out who is really independent and who caters to Trudeau.
Within 7 sitting days of last Monday, a motion to uphold the Emergency Act must be tabled in both the Commons and the Senate. That step has already taken place in the Commons and the motion is being debated. With NDP support it will pass regardless of its merits. The Senate may be another matter.
Canada has 105 Senators and a majority of them are unaffiliated calling themselves the Independent Senators Group (ISG). If they are truly independent, they are unlikely to endorse using the Emergency Act to quell a peaceful protest which involved no violence by protesters and was simply aimed at putting an end to vaccine mandates which at this point in the pandemic add nothing to public health protection but intrude on personal freedoms and privacy. Endorsement of the Emergency Act is license for a Prime Minister to declare a national emergency whenever in a snit and use the expanded powers to throttle dissident voices and advance his or her own ideology.
The question of independence is a thorny one to predict a priori, since it requires an assessment of whether a Senator puts loyalty to the Prime Minister who advised their appointment ahead of their duty to act as a sober second thought on legislation enacted by Parliament. Looking at the ISG group, what is striking is that 40 of them were appointed on the advice of Justin Trudeau and three on the advice of Jean Chretien. None were appointed on the advice of a Conservative Prime Minister and only five from Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Alberta. They may claim to be independent and may well be independent but that claim doesn’t pass the smell test on its face. You might ask yourself why the Senate is composed of so many Senators appointed since 2015 in the scant 7 years since Trudeau took office. Is it possible the Senate is “stacked” with progressive voices?
Six Senators desribe themselves as “non-affiliated”. Of those, four were appointed by Trudeau, one by Stephen Harper and one by Jean Chretien. Only 16 Senators describe themselves as “Conservative Party of Canada” and all 16 were appointed on the advice of Stephen Harper. Harper served as Prime Minister for 9 years versus Trudeau now in his eighth year. Was “stacking the Senate” part of Trudeau’s plan from the outset?
The remaining 13 Senators identify as part of the “Canadian Senators Group” and their appointments were on the advice of Trudeau (4), Harper (7) and one each for Chretien and Paul Marting.
If you believe Senators are likely to support the ideology of the Prime Minister responsible for their appointment, the current Senate will approve the Emergency Act regardless of its validity under our Constitution or in accordance with the protections legislated when it was enacted in 1988. That will leave it up to the Courts to decide whether the step was taken legally or otherwise.
I for one have confidence in our Senate. Unlike NDP member of Parliament Charlie Angus who first decried the use of the Emergency Act but now speaks in favor of it (no doubt for political gain and under the influence of the NDP party whip) Senators may vote their conscience. Canada expects its Senate to in fact be a “sober second thought” hurdle to protect Canadians from acts of Parliament taken too hastily without enough concern for their long term consequences. One consequence if the Emergency Act’s use to quash a very local and limited protest and seize assets and bank accounts of protesters is upheld will be the license it gives future Parliaments to use the resources of the state to advance ideological goals and suppress dissent. That is characteristic of third world dictatorships and it will be a tragedy if that becomes law in Canada.
I am hopeful our Senate gives this vital issue a sincere and thorough hearing and acts to ensure Canada does not take a step towards authoritarian rule. That may be awkward for some Senators but without their independence Canada’s Senate has no value.
This is the end of freedom in Canada if the Senate upholds the Emergencies Act..AND WHEREAS the Governor in Council, in taking such special temporary measures, would be subject to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Bill of Rights and must have regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, particularly with respect to those fundamental rights that are not to be limited or abridged even in a national emergency.
Trudeau ignored the Canadian Bill of Rights in every respect. The Act notes a SERIOUS emergency, not a protest with honking. In fact, Trudeau ignored nearly every line in the Act, and simply interpreted in his own way. If the Senate agrees with him, that is end of any representative government in Canada. Yet Trudeau won't care, because he is only self-interested and could let the entire nation degenerate, as long as it suits his needs.
This is the end of freedom in Canada if the Senate upholds the Emergencies Act..AND WHEREAS the Governor in Council, in taking such special temporary measures, would be subject to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Bill of Rights and must have regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, particularly with respect to those fundamental rights that are not to be limited or abridged even in a national emergency.
Trudeau ignored the Canadian Bill of Rights in every respect. The Act notes a SERIOUS emergency, not a protest with honking. In fact, Trudeau ignored nearly every line in the Act, and simply interpreted in his own way. If the Senate agrees with him, that is end of any representative government in Canada. Yet Trudeau won't care, because he is only self-interested and could let the entire nation degenerate, as long as it suits his needs.