Conservatives Attack the Canadian Senate

[MrMikailus]

By the way, I agree with most of the comments that criticize the senate. However, it should be elected, not abolished or kept as it is. And don't give us this horse-shit about them defending our interests.

[MrMikailus]

I am in favour of an elected and equal senate. Also, the monarchy has to go.

[jonahfox]

This is retarded the senators are not democratically elected and they keep their office for life. Think about how corrupt you can get in all those years in office, making so many good friends.

[IonaandTroy]

Aint this bi partasnism, like in the states where the Republicans and the Democrats act like enemies like the Word Wrestling federation?

[ajgolfer1]

wow i lost brain cells watching this

[HORACEBONES]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Is this a joke? Senators have served Canadian interests? No, they have served their own interests. Abolish the senate! It is a relic of our undemocratic past.

[chirio87]

Wow. The dude who made this video is severely misinformed. The Senate is weak BECAUSE it is politically isolated and lacks the legitimacy to make effective challenges to legislation arising out of the House of Commons. Plus the current system basically ignores the needs of the West because of their small representation. "The Conservatives are bulldozing parliament to make room for their ideological onslaught?" Or are you really afraid that reform would prevent the onslaught of the libs?

[EmosHappyEnding]

@chirio87 HAHA, the guy who made this isnt misinformed! (i know you wrote that a year ago butt)

[CoolHandNoah]

be afraid

[victoriasfh]

the senate already is weak. how can it represent the people if its not elected?

[masterplan65]

Dude...you are ridiculous, we're in the 20th century now.... we need an elected upper house or no upper house at all

[4jairman]

just reform the senate already, get up with the times.

the ignorance and manipulation in this add is so blatant...."let's keep the senate as is cause it's tradition ---let's not really talk about whether it works or not"

[MGman800]

The Lie-berals would do nothing to stand up for Canadians as so the Senate.

[jamesamclean23]

I truly wish that you would have spent as much time reading a book on cdn politics as making this ad. The Senate is ALREADY week and ineffectual. It is by far the most useless, impotent and patronaged upper chamber in the Western world. It is also stacked with Liberals because they have been in charge of appointments for nearly 3/4 of the past century...this is a point that is recognized by everyone..you do your countrymen a great disservice by posting this ignorant and partisan propaganda.

[RoLexus]

there are senators that don't even go to the senates. all they do is attend the first day of opening of the government and get their weekly cheques. canada doesn't need lazy senators that aren't even elected by the people.

[thunderflash82]

Ha, this guy thinks limiting Senators terms to 8 years is a bad thing when some of these Senators can serve up to 45 years. 45 years is a bloody long time.

[ConservativeGuy3]

what song is playing in  the background?

[bradwhitcombe]

are senat must not be hijackt form partasen hacks they have to be basted on marit that means elected by the people not just one senitor but many like 3 choces on a balit, then apointed by the prime minister of canada thats how it can be if you want it more democratic the isue is not that an elected seniter will have the qualifacations for the job but that ther must be strict ruls in becoming a canadat i am hoping that this is going to hapen its the best that can be done.

[tiggfigg]

If the Senate was controlled by CONservative nut-jobs Harper would be fine with it.

[thunderflash82]

tiggfigg...and then the liberals would attack the senate. Point is, the senate is undemocratic waste of time and money.

[tiggfigg]

Well then have elected senators. But it needs to be a fair process.

It needs to be a preferential ballot to prevent vote splits.

Here is an example of a vote split between Liberal NDP and Bloc.

Conservative 25,000 votes

NDP 12,000

Liberal 9600

Bloc 9000

The majority of the people voted for someone other than the conservative. What a preferential ballot will do is help decide the preferred party that have a similar platform. (eg. NDP, Liberal, Bloc are somewhat similar in their ideology)

[thunderflash82]

There's a reason why people on the left don't vote for the same party and that's because they have different ideologies, not like what you just said in implying everyone who isn't a conservative has the same views.

For example, the Bloc is a Quebec nationalist party. If I vote liberal, why should my vote count towards a party I don't support and visa versa.

If the non-conservatives don't want their vote split they should join together like the Alliance and PC did.

[tiggfigg]

The guy with the most votes wins in our current system. This person in many cases doesn't represent the majority of people. With a prefenecial ballot. You will assign a number to each candidate.

EG.) Conservative - 1  Liberal - 2 NDP - 3 Block - 4

or if you only like the conservative party just vote them as your number 1 choice, and stop there, you only need to pick your #1 choice, you don't have to support parties you don't like.

[thunderflash82]

The only problem with that is that Canada is a large country and significant portions of its population live in remote and rural areas. If you have preferential voting then those areas and their people will lose political influence. (particularly a concern if you're talking about farmers, natives, inuit, and even the maritimes).

Also, areas with very large populations (Toronto) would control the political landscape.

[thunderflash82]

Furthermore to your example you provided, the conservatives are more than twice as far ahead as the next runner up, the NDP. Why shouldn't that senator be elected, even if he's a conservative.

[silverbullet902]

LOL. Let me get this straight, the government is "assaulting" the Canadian senate because they are pushing to democratize it! Haha what a superb piece of propaganda this video is.

[Fingerlingduck]

wait a minute, isnt partisan hacks appointing liberals and conservatives to the senate? I do not know how a Democratic Senate will destroy Canada.

[stephenjob]

That opening frame should read "Conservatives want democracy".

Claiming that something should continue simply because it existed before is absent of logic. Senate reform will bring further power into the hands of private citizens. Perhaps then we would have an upper chamber that actually does something, like in the United States, or in the UK, where currently the House of Lords is changing into a body with elected seats.

[324wilson]

Well, I am not a great fan of Liberals but they are right here. Senate should be there for us.

GOD BLESS CANADA,

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!!!

[Gillhoolee]

Nice Vid.

[PhilipJFry72]

This video is pure garbage. "Partisan hacks" is essentially all the Liberal Senators.

Go on, Liberal Hack, try and defend Art Eggleton's appointment as a Senator. Try.

You know you can't, because if you try you'll discover that most senators have dubious "qualifications" and that the real reason the Liberals are against Senate reform is because it's the only place they still have power.

[Girodatto]

Even a Senate with a majority of Conservative-appointed senators would be better than an elected Senate.

[PhilipJFry72]

How so? So far the only thing Senators do is suck money from the taxpayers, and either rubber-stamp the gvt's agenda - when it's a Liberal gvt! - or obstruct it - when it's a Conservative gvt.

I think it's time that the Senate was reformed, and if it doesn't work, we can always change it back.

[PrimarySource888]

Reasonable people can disagree on elected Senators, but I don't think raising the specter of some evil hidden conservative agenda helps your cause. Your argument is based on hate and fear of conservatives, where's the Liberal tolerance for other points of view? Its ironic when the Tories have stronger democratic instincts than the Liberal Party which in many respects still follows the old elitist models of party organization and public policy.

[lycurgus33]

That's right. The motion to have Liberal party policy and the Liberal party's national executive determined and elected by Liberal party members was shot down.

The Liberal party has a hidden agenda to destroy democracy.

[Goakery]

this video is gay. Really. Im a Liberal, but I support an Elected Senate for Provincial Representation. Yup, the Conservatives are 'destroying Canada' by bringing democracy to Canada. Im not a Conservative, but there not doing that bad, yet.

[skeptik59]

I didn't see any reference to homosexuality at all in this video, so I'm not sure in what sense you see it as Gay. Perhaps you meant to say "This video is not representative of my opinion regarding an elected Senate."? Unless you meant to imply that the Liberal Party is, as a whole, homosexual? In any event, your referring to this video as Gay leaves me a trifle confused....

[Goakery]

I guess I have to be technical here. Fine. What I was trying to say when I didnt know this was YourAtSchool was that we need Provincial Representation in the Senate to reduce the chances of another Referendum on Independence. Please. Its 2007. Appointments to the Senate? How about elected Senators? Its sad that its this way in Canada. Brian Mulroney, the worst prime minister in Canadian history, appointed Senators just so he can get his Free Trade Deal passed. Is that Democracy?

[westmanguy]

actually your right....I know this video creator from the forum he labels at the end.

The creator is actually gay...lol

[AbortedArtist]

Nice Liberal Party Advert...

[westmanguy]

lol, "partisan hacks"... tehe

[westmanguy]

Yep, 2 radical differing point of views.

[hetman11]

Liberals: Senators are appointed based on PM's choice and can serve potentially for 45 years.

Conservatives: Replace appointments with elections to decide senate positions, and limit their term limit to 8 years.

[westmanguy]

well it has its benefits franktremb. But I believe Canada can have an elected upper house and still be an effective legislative body looking out for Canadian interests.

Yes it will become more Partisan, but those are the sacrifices that I accept in the name of democracy.

But its likely never gonna happen.

Senate's blocked it, and it it was to go to the provincial involvement level Quebec or Ontario would veto it anyways.

So sadly, our dream of a "Tripple-E" Senate is a long while off.

[franktremb]

In a democracy, a non-elected House like the Canadian Senate is a disgrace.

[westmanguy]

I'll give you this... you stand by your beliefs and convictions and I respect that always even though I respectfully disagree.

Cheers!