Prime minister Jean ChrŽtien last week was accused by Reform MPs of caring more about Quebec separatist voters than Albertans who want an elected Senate.
The prime minister refused to recognize the legitimacy of the Oct. 19 election of Bert Brown and Ted Morton as Alberta “senators-in-waiting.”
He said the Reform-supported Alberta election would send senators to Ottawa under the old rules, delaying real reform to an elected, equal and effective Senate.
Intergovernmental affairs minister StŽphane Dion added: “The reform of the Senate of Canada must be a comprehensive one, not a piecemeal one that would be bad for all Canadians, including Albertans.”
Read Also
Land crash warning rejected
A technical analyst believes that Saskatchewan land values could be due for a correction, but land owners and FCC say supply/demand fundamentals drive land prices – not mathematical models
But Reform MPs were not buying.
“The prime minister has again slapped Albertans in the face,” said Calgary Reform MP Art Hanger.
He noted that Alberta premier Ralph Klein has called on ChrŽtien to honor the Alberta decision the next time a Senate seat is to be filled from the province. He said 91 percent of Albertans have said they want an elected Senate.
Yet the Liberal government refuses to accept the provincial vote as legitimate because it is not sanctioned by the constitution.
Meanwhile, Quebec premier Lucien Bouchard says he will call another referendum about pulling Quebec out of Canada if he is re-elected.
It is not called for in the constitution and yet the federal government takes it seriously.
“Why does the prime minister treat premier Bouchard’s negative initiative with more respect than premier Klein’s positive one?” Hangar asked in the House of Commons.
Dion said Reform misses the point.
“It is incredible that the Reform party is comparing the debate about the secession of Canada and the debate about how to improve an important institution, the Senate of Canada,” he said.
Meanwhile, Reform Senate critic Rob Anders said last week that Brown and Morton will become thorns in the side of the federal government by being visible, elected and advocates of an elected Upper House.
They will stick to the government, he said, “like green to broccoli.”
