Oh, that crazy kid Trudeau.
He's been goofing off again in class, making bold pronouncements and hoping somebody other than the CBC is listening or cares.
The CBC always breathlessly follows the mostly meaningless antics in the federal Parliament, because these self-appointed members of the Eastern Canada elite (Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson call them the "Laurentian consenses" in their great book The Big Shift) honestly believe the pronouncements of federal political leaders has a real effect on the daily lives of Canadians.
Federal Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, in a desperate bid to get the attention of Canadians, booted the Liberal senators out of the party's caucus Wednesday, saying they were now independents and that the only party left in the Senate was the ruling Conservatives, the same party that's hoping the Supreme Court decides they have the authority to set term limits and hold some form of elections for senators.
On the surface, Trudeau's move seems clever and shrewd but the shiny gloss on this political tomfoolery wears off fast. Trudeau would us believe this an historic and groundbreaking move to make the Senate more independent, more meaningful and more distinguished.
To quote the legendary political philosophers Trooper, that would be dressing up a 3 as a 9.
For starters, Trudeau isn't trying to change the Senate in a way that will give Canadians better representation. The two best ideas to do that have already been taken by the Conservatives (elect senators) and the NDP (abolish the Senate altogether). So apparently making senators unelected but independent will be just what Canadians need to brighten their otherwise sad and dreary existence.
This is little more than a jab at Harper and a weak attempt to contain some upcoming political fallout from the auditor general's review of Senate expenses.
That report is likely to detail abuses of privilege by both Liberal and Conservative senators when it comes to spending the public's money for their private gain. Now when it comes out, Trudeau can shrug just like his old man did back in the day, harumph indignantly and claim that those bad apples don't belong to his caucus any more.
As for the jab, Harper swatted it aside with the disdain it deserves.
"I gather the change announced by the leader today is that unelected Liberal senators will become unelected senators who happen to be Liberal," he said during Question Period.
The only thing missing from that put down was Harper crossing the aisle, handing Trudeau a pair of water wings and sending the rookie party leader to play in the wading pool while the grownups talk serious business.
How about the federal government's reluctance to work with the provinces (and B.C. jobs minister Shirley Bond) on a job action plan that puts people to work where the jobs are in demand? How about the federal government's closure of Veterans Affairs offices, including the one in Prince George? How about the federal government dragging its feet on providing permits for growers to legally provide medical marijuana to the thousands of Canadians who have doctor prescriptions in hand? How about the federal government passing a law, instead of waiting for the Supreme Court to do the hard work, allowing for doctor-assisted suicide for the terminally ill under strict conditions already in practice in Europe and the United States?
That's the kind of serious business government can do that actually affects Canadians in their daily lives.
For Trudeau to be taken seriously as a future Leader of the Opposition, never mind a future Prime Minister, he needs to stop trying to excite Peter Mansbridge and the political pundits and spend more time engaging Joe Citizen in places like Cornerbrook, Thetford Mines, Lloydminster and Prince George.
In those places and in most Canadian households, jobs and caring for veterans and the sick and dying is what's important.
The Senate?
Not so much.
