Despite the fact that they were ousted by Justin Trudeau, Liberal senators declared Wednesday afternoon that they will continue to refer to themselves as âthe Liberal Senate caucus.â
In a surprise move, Trudeau Wednesday that all 32 Liberal members of the upper chamber will henceforth be known as âformerly Liberal senators.â Trudeau said the move is designed to reduce partisanship in the Senate and restore some semblance of independence to the upper chamber.
âThe 32 formerly Liberal senators are now independent of the national Liberal caucus,â Trudeau told reporters on Parliament Hill. âThey are no longer part of our parliamentary team. There are no more Liberal senators.â
The senators were informed of Trudeauâs decision at the beginning of Wednesdayâs caucus meeting. Afterward, James Cowan said he will continue to serve as the Senate Opposition Leader.
âWe are members of the Liberal party, and we intend to remain so,â Cowan later told CTVâs Power Play. âWe intend to remain active in the Liberal Party and we hope to see Mr. Trudeau elected as prime minister, and weâll do everything we can to do that. But what we are is we are no longer members of the parliamentary caucus.â
Cowan added that the former Liberal senators ârespectâ Trudeauâs decision, which he said âwill give us a certain independence and I think it will be good for the Senate.â
When Trudeau later asked Prime Minister Stephen Harper in question period whether he, too, will only allow elected Members of Parliament to sit in the Conservative caucus, Harper replied by making a joke.
âI gather the change announced by the leader today is that unelected Liberal senators will become unelected senators who happen to be Liberal,â Harper said.
âIâm not a former Liberal. Iâm a Liberal and Iâm a Liberal senator,ââ Harper went on, quoting Cowanâs statement to reporters. âHe also said, âI suspect that not a great deal will change.â That has to be the understatement of the year.â
The Senateâs future has been a hot topic for discussion on Parliament Hill since a handful of senators were found to have filed thousands of dollarsâ worth of ineligible expenses. Mac Harb retired last year, while Pamela Wallin, Mike Duffy and Patrick Brazeau were suspended pending the outcome of an RCMP investigation.
Auditor General Michael Ferguson is probing all senatorsâ expenses, and a media report earlier this week suggested he will soon release an interim report.
Minister for Democratic Reform Pierre Poilievre accused Trudeau of trying to âdistance himselfâ from the coming report.
âIt does seem like heâs trying to create a smokescreen through todayâs publicity stunt,â Poilievre told Power Play. âBut it doesnât represent any kind of change to the way the Senate works.â
Trudeau denied that his decision had anything to do with the auditor generalâs probe, telling reporters Wednesday morning that, âthe Senate is broken and needs to be fixed.â
"If the Senate serves a purpose at all, it is to act as a check on the extraordinary power of the prime minister and his office, especially in a majority government," Trudeau said.
"The party structure in the Senate interferes with this responsibility. Taken together with patronage (appointments), partisanship within the Senate is a powerful, negative force. It reinforces the prime minister's power instead of checking it."
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair also wondered at the motivation behind Trudeauâs decision, saying the Liberal leader voted against an NDP motion last fall that called for both the Liberals and the Conservatives to turf their senators from caucus.
âAll of a sudden what was impossible on Oct. 23 becomes possible,â Mulcair told reporters in Ottawa. âSo the question becomes, why the sudden about-face?â
Mulcair used Trudeauâs news to reaffirm his own partyâs desire to abolish the Senate.
"Obviously it's a step in the right direction, but why stop there?â Mulcair said. âWhy stop at 32? We want to get rid of the Senate altogether."
Among Trudeauâs proposals is that a selection committee choose senators-- a suggestion Poilievre said âis a step in the wrong direction.â
âNot only would senators be unelected, but the people who choose them would also be unelected,â Poilievre said. âSo we would be two steps from democracy rather than just one.â
The federal government has referred the matter of Senate reform to the Supreme Court of Canada.
To a question of why the Conservatives have been slow to move on the issue, Poilievre replied that, âwe have a Constitution and the Government of Canada cannot unilaterally act without some guidance from the Court about how that Constitution applies.
âSo weâre hoping the court finds that the prime ministerâs proposed reforms to bring an elected principle into the upper chamber do fit within the confines of the existing constitutional arrangement, and if it does, then weâll move ahead with it.â
Meanwhile, of the senatorsâ change in status, Cowan said itâs âtoo earlyâ to say exactly how it will work.
âA lot will depend on whether Mr. Harper grants the same independence to Conservative senators. And if he doesnât do that, not much will change. But if he does, then I think thereâs a chance that the Senate can fulfill that independent chamber of sober second thought that people expect that it will.â