Even with the House of Commons in recess, it was a busy week in Canadian politics. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a trip to the United Nations, seven new senators were appointed to the beleaguered Upper Chamber and open support for NDP leader Tom Mulcair seems to be fading fast.
Joining The West Block’s Tom Clark to sift through all the news were David Akin, parliamentary bureau chief for Sun Media, and the Toronto Star’s Susan Delacourt.
The panel started with the most recent news out of the Senate, with Delacourt suggesting that the appointment of seven new senators who are tasked with acting as independents will bring a welcome injection of fresh blood to the scandal-plagued institution.
READ MORE: How independent will Canada’s new senators be?
“I’m optimistic that something is happening in the Senate,” she said. “It took almost burning it down for that to happen, but I do think … we are going to see a change in the Senate.”
Akin disagreed, pointing out that by appointing the new senators through a supposedly non-partisan advisory committee, the prime minister is able to distance himself from any future misbehaviour.
“If you didn’t like what Mike Duffy was doing, you could take it out on Stephen Harper at the ballot box,” he said.
“And if you don’t like what these senators do at any point, they’re there till 75, it ain’t Trudeau’s fault. He can shrug and go hey … it wasn’t my choice. It was an independent body and they’re not my caucus. So there’s nobody we can get angry at, at the ballot box for the work of the Senate and I think that’s not good.”
The panel also tackled Tom Mulcair’s future as leader of the NDP, with both Akin and Delacourt suggesting that he’s in a bad spot as the party heads toward a leadership review.
READ MORE: Mulcair’s moment: When defeated NDP leader decided to stay and fight
Delacourt called it “death by a thousand neutral comments.”
“It is remarkable to see,” she said. “I think as the NDP is getting over the defeat, realizing where they’re at, I think they’re probably realizing they’re not going to get through the next election with him.”
This time, Akin was in total agreement.
“I too find it remarkable that there is no one, no proxies, championing Tom Mulcair as the current or future leader of the New Democratic Party. And for that reason, I don’t think he’s going to make this vote.”
For more discussion of Mulcair’s future, and a conversation about Canada’s changing relationship with the United Nations, watch the full panel discussion above.
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