Craig Needles Show, January 27

I was on the Craig Needles Show on AM980 in London, ON, on Monday to talk about the return of Parliament, and it's now available on the Loonie Politics podcast. I don't often do radio, but it was a good experience, so we'll see if I get invited back.

Trudeau’s ill-considered Senate bombshell

I have a bonus column on Loonie Politics today after today's surprise bombshell from Justin Trudeau where he kicked out every senator from his caucus on the principle that he was trying to make the Senate "non-partisan." In the column, I explain some of the principles around Responsible Government for why we have government and opposition roles that are partisan in both chambers, and point to some of the dangers in some of the ways that Trudeau is proposing to revise the appointment process.

The straw men of the Senate

My column in Loonie Politics this week looks at the series of press releases that the NDP sent out last week, and fact checks them a little, and points out the areas where they are perhaps being disingenuous, or holding senators to a different standard than they are their own MPs. Because if one is going to launch a campaign for Senate abolition, then perhaps they should use actual facts and not a series of straw men to do it unchallenged.

Should Trudeau be able to charge speaking fees?

My column this week on Loonie Politics revisits the issue of MPs and senators charging speaking fees for professional engagements outside of their parliamentary duties, given the way that the issue of Trudeau's fees blew up again at the end of last week. It's a good opportunity to remind people of the actual role of MPs - holding government to account and scrutinizing the estimates - and brings in the expense issue of Senator Pamela Wallin as an example of where the arguments against fees will wind up.

Committing to open nominations

My column this week on Loonie Politics looks at the issue of open nominations, now that it's becoming the season for them, and especially with the attention paid to the Rob Anders nomination challenge in Calgary. I've long held that nomination races are the most important and least understood part of our democratic system, so it's always great when I get a chance to write about them and express their value to the health of our democracy.

Op-Ed: A smaller Senate would be less effective

I have an op-ed in the Ottawa Citizen today, in which I respond to an editorial on Monday that proposed a form of Senate reform that seemed to have been resurrected from the 1970s. I was able to take apart those arguments and put forward some facts on the way in which the Senate actually works. As well, the piece was picked up on National Newswatch, which is always nice to see.

The Angus Standard on Election Rules

My column this week on Loonie Politics looks at the recently revelation that Charlie Angus' official agent broke elections rules in the 2011 campaign, and the subsequent concern that this was really no big deal and he'd rather not have a crackdown to scare off volunteers. Because this kind of thing harkens back to the Ted Opitz trial at the Supreme Court, I felt it apropos to look at the two together, and this attitude among some MPs that apparently breaking Elections Canada rules are no big deal, when in fact it is.