tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38912304.post-82572251428934466892007-04-18T12:50:00.000-07:002007-04-18T14:26:13.351-07:00Senators opened their sitting yesterday with a moment of silence to commemorate the loss of nine Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Question Period</span></strong><br /><br />In question period, Leader of the Opposition, Céline Hervieux-Payette (Lib-QC), questioned the government on why senior ministers were absent <br />from celebrations relating to the silver anniversary of the signing of the <br />Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and cited that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief of staff, Ian Brodie, had once written about the "ill-effects" of the charter. Government leader Marjorie LeBreton (Cons-ON) responded that the Minister of Justice was, in fact, involved in the day's celebrations.<br /><br />Later, Senator Marilyn Trenholme Counsell (Lib-NB) suggested that the government had been deceptive in its Health Care Wait Times Guarantee. In response, Sen. LeBreton reminded the chamber that health care is a provincial responsibility, and that the government is delivering additional funding to the provinces. Sen. Counsell was not satisfied, suggesting that provinces were "bribed" with federal funding<br />to sign on to the agreement. Sen. LeBreton called the "bribe" comment "irresponsible."<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Debate</span></strong><strong><br /></strong><br />The Senate resumed debate on the "Murray-Austin" motion, to increase western represenation in the Senate. The original motion proposed to increase<br />British Columbia's representation from six to 12; Alberta from six to ten; Saskatchewan and<br />Manitoba each from six to seven. An amendment to the motion, make by Senator David Tkachuk (Cons-SK) would increase British Columbia's representation to 24.<br /><br />On the amendment to the motion, Senator Pierrette Ringuette (Lib-NB) spoke against it. She argued that the confederation negotiations provided that balance would be regional, that regionalism was an<br />integral part of the negotiation for the then Lower Canada as a counterweight to representation<br />by population, and that Senatorial Divisions have, by precedent, only been added with the<br />addition of territory - not by the increase of population as is the case with the motion to amend.<br /><br />Sen. Tkachuk closed debate on the amendment, pointing out that, as Prime Minister, Jean Chretien's government recognized British Columbia as a region,<br />and that it was unfair that the province be represented by only six senators while the Atlantic<br />provinces are represented by 30, with a lower population.<br /><br />Debate on the main motion was put on the order paper.<br /><br />Other bills debated included amendments to the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security Act, the Public Service Employment Act, and the Divorce Act.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/38912304-8257225142893446689?l=canadiansenatedigest.blogspot.com'/></div>Senate Digest Staffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09035964959894818993noreply@blogger.com0