Harper to fill Vacant Senate Seats Before New Year

Have they signed an agreement to that effect?  And if so, is it even binding?  The Constitution is the supreme law and it says terms are for life or until 75 years.   Not to mention the very clear conflict of interest that comes from senators taking the orders from the House of Commons/PM - supposed to be independent, sobre second thought, no?

ETA - I think the only way to ensure that a senator retires/steps down after 8 years is to appoint one when s/he is 67.

well duh, of course you are not forcing anyone to stay on.  Judges and senators retire due to illness for example.

What I'm wondering is what happens after 8 years if someone doesn't resign.  Can the government force them to (based on breach of contract?).  I would guess that  they cannot and that any contract or agreement will be null and void. A lot can happen in 8 years.  I predict that on December 22, 2016 most, if not all, of the 18 appointments will say that they are doing hard work for the good of Canadian people and would like to stay on until the age of 75 to continue to do so.

Has anyone checked to see just how old these appointees will be in 8 year's time - Duffy must be getting up there.

"What I'm wondering is what happens after 8 years if someone doesn't resign."

NOTHING. There is no way short of amending the constitution that senators can be made to resign short of when they turn 75. Period. Its a joke.

So Harper wants to cut public funding for political parties. And at the same time he puts Conservative Party fundraiser Irving Gerstein on the public payroll as a Senator.

Can you spell HYPOCRISY?

"An appointed senate is a relic of the 19th century." -- Steve "Now I'm just a hypocritical lap poodle for Crazy George II" Harper, December 14, 2005 and AWOL in '08-09

Duffy's appointment is cause for consternation. 

I mean, how robust are Bolivian lamposts?

It would be interesting to know if there were any that declined the offer of a senate seat from Harper. It seems somewhat questionable to accept this kind of public service position from someone that suspended our democracy. I did not think Duffy would have any pangs of guilt, but that Wallin accepted I find somewhat disappointing.

Yonah Kim Martin is a stronger advocate for BC's Korean-Canadian community than I would have guessed. Although she was a Conservative candidate in 2008, back in 2004 she was appealing for votes for the Liberal candidate who ran against James Moore, Kwangyul Peck:

Quote:

Currently, in certain electoral ridings of Vancouver, Burnaby and particularly Coquitlam, there are large concentrations of Korean-Canadians. We now have the potential to make an impact with our collective voice. At all levels of politics – municipal, provincial or federal – the Korean community is an ethnic group that can affect change. The politicians know this. They also know that the Korean community in the Lower Mainland does not yet have elected representatives in any levels of government.

What does this mean?

We are in a perfect position. A position of power. The power to show that the Korean vote can make a difference in an election.

Kwangyul Peck is the only Korean candidate in this federal election. Fortunately, he is running in Coquitlam which is densely populated with Koreans. Each Korean-Canadian citizen, 18 years or older, now has the power to send this Korean representative to Ottawa. By his very presence in Parliament, he will amplify our collective voice – farther than we could shout it at the top of our lungs from our community rooftops.

In other ridings, each Korean-Canadian can vote for the candidate who will be a good secondary representative, a person who is empathetic and understanding of the immigrant experience. A candidate who is willing to embrace the Korean community as his/her own. These open-minded individuals can be perfect advocates for our community.

As Korean-Canadians, casting our ballot lets us speak our own minds. As individuals. As a community. Let our collective voice be heard all the way across this vast country – all the way to Ottawa.

The most laughable appointment is Yonah Martin, the defeated conservative candidate in New Westminster Coquitlam Port Moody. Now everyone out in Babble land might be saying.. Yonah Who? And you wouldnt be too far from the mark. Her performance during the campaign was well... horrible.  She finished a strong second only because the Liberal vote in the riding totally collapsed into the Conservative vote. But face to face in debates etc, she was totally lost and really looked clueless. In terms of qualifications for the Senate.... other than being a teacher and a co founder of "Korean Canadian" group called C3.... she's done nothing at all on a national, provincial or civic level to warrant this consideration. Perhaps Harper was looking at her Korean Canadian heritage and looked to make history with these pork barrell appointments.

Ms. Martin is 43 years old. She puts a 4 million dollar dent into the taxpayers wallet over the course of her Senate tenure not too mention the expenses. Then of course there's the pension. The question is, is she going to continue her teaching career, and become a career senator, or is she going to sidle up to the trough and eat from it whole heartedly. The proper thing to do, in my opinion and based on how much she says she likes teaching is to tell Harper to piss off.  But I doubt that she will.  On a side note, the one surprise to me was that Robert Fife, CTV resident Conservative lickspiddle and bootlick wasnt paid off. But his work isn't done I suppose.

No doubt on the evening news tonight, Ol' Bob will be giddy with joy at his hero Duffer and Pam Wallin going in. Too bad Bob, gotta pick up more paycheques by trying to look like you work for a living. Though maybe Harper might be looking for a press secretary or something.