Father Raymond J. de Souza: Holding senators to the lowest standard
Justice Charles Vaillancourt’s judgement in the Senator Duffy trial was a strange end to the strangest scandal in our political history, the core of which was the decision by a public servant — Nigel...
View ArticleJohn Ivison: Mike Duffy is back, but meaningful changes to Senate still hard...
Mike Duffy returned to life in the slow lane, reclaiming his seat in the Senate for the first time since he was booted unceremoniously from the upper house more than two years ago. It would be nice to...
View ArticleAndrew Coyne: Still confused about the new non-partisan Senate? Here’s a...
Many people seem to be in some confusion about the government’s plan for the new independent, non-partisan Senate. Does it not suggest some confusion on the government’s part, they ask, that six months...
View ArticleMike Duffy considers bid to have legal costs reimbursed by Senate fund
OTTAWA — Mike Duffy is considering a bid to have his legal costs reimbursed by a Senate fund that at least six other senators have used to quietly help pay their lawyers. Donald Bayne, Duffy’s lawyer,...
View ArticleSenate committee moves to make Senators disclose more about their expenses
OTTAWA — The Senate’s internal economy committee has decided that all senators will soon have to be more transparent about their expenses. Thursday’s decision by the Standing Committee on Internal...
View ArticleOntario court withdraws all criminal charges against former Liberal senator...
Criminal charges of fraud and breach of trust against former Liberal senator Mac Harb have been withdrawn. Harb wasn’t in court Friday to hear an out-of-town prosecutor tell Ontario Court judge Heather...
View ArticleKady O’Malley: Assisted dying bill poised to undergo major rewrite on the...
The government’s proposed new rules on physician-assisted dying are heading back to the Senate after just one day at committee, but will likely undergo a major rewrite before being green-lit by the...
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Andrew Coyne: New Senate activism undermines the very principle of democracy
In 2014, the Supreme Court threw out the Harper government’s proposed reforms to the Senate, notably one that would have made appointments to the upper house subject to non-binding elections, on the...
View ArticleSenate votes to remove near-death requirement from assisted dying bill
OTTAWA — The Senate voted Wednesday to allow suffering Canadians who are not near death to seek medical help to end their lives, knocking out the central pillar underpinning the federal government’s...
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Senators’ complaints delay Parliament Hill renovations, possibly adding...
OTTAWA — Senators’ complaints about construction near their offices appear to have delayed a major step in the multibillion-dollar Parliament Hill renovations — which could mean increased costs and an...
View ArticleImpasse looms as Senate votes to extend assisted-dying rights to non-terminal...
OTTAWA — A parliamentary impasse looms over the Liberals’ turbulent assisted-dying legislation after the Senate Wednesday drew a line in the sand and adopted a significantly reworked version of Bill...
View ArticleSenators set to debate whether to concede or fight over amendments to...
OTTAWA — Parliament could be approaching a deadlock as Senators prepare to debate Friday whether to concede to elected officials or fight the House of Commons on amendments to medically assisted dying...
View ArticleAndrew Coyne: Senate shows new sense of authority despite giving in on Bill C-14
So Bill C-14 has passed, by the grace of God but more importantly the Senate. It was no sure thing, you understand. But in the end a majority of senators, having earlier demanded changes to the...
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There’s been ‘enough injustice visited upon’ Mike Duffy: Lawyer slams...
Mike Duffy may be back in the upper house chamber and on the parliamentary payroll, but even after an Ontario court judge acquitted him on all charges stemming from his allegedly inappropriate expense...
View ArticleYou could be Canada’s next Senator: Just submit a resume and references online
OTTAWA — Canadians who dream of becoming a senator can now submit their resumes online. There have always been ways for individuals — usually higher-profile ones, or those with a long history in...
View ArticleAlberta senator excited for ‘uncharted territory’ of independence after...
Alberta’s Doug Black is one of the few Canadian senators to have been elected by voters and subsequently appointed to the Red Chamber. On Thursday he announced his resignation from the Conservative...
View ArticleRobyn Urback: Classic Mike Duffy is back — now, with the Senate’s stamp of...
Beleaguered Senator Mike Duffy faced a no-win situation when he returned to the red chamber in May: either he would again file expense claims for his residence in Ottawa, given that he’s a senator from...
View ArticleRobyn Urback: Canada’s new Senate: just like the old Senate
This time last year, the question of what to do about the Senate was at the forefront of Canadian political discourse. The trial of Sen. Mike Duffy — who faced criminal charges of fraud, breach of...
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Senate’s Westminster model of operating vanishing as independents seek share...
OTTAWA — The government’s representative in the Senate says its Westminster model of legislating “will disappear,” as senators clash over how to accommodate independents who are mobilizing to get their...
View ArticleAndrew Coyne: If we must have an unelected Senate, then it must also be...
The Senate is the appendix of Confederation: a largely inert organ, like the appendix, whose original purpose is lost to time, but which on occasion can grow inflamed — with pus, or its own...
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