OTTAWA - Liberal senators enraged the Harper government Wednesday by proposing yet another delay to a bill limiting Senate terms to eight years.
Tories on the Senate's legal and constitutional affairs committee had hoped to breeze through clause-by-clause study of Bill S-4, which has been stuck in the upper house for almost a year. The bill is only three clauses long.
But Liberals came up with a new twist, asking that all premiers be given until the end of the month to weigh in on the constitutionality of the bill. They argued that a detailed submission received last week from New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham cast a new light on the bill and said other provinces should have a chance to respond.
Graham contended that term limits would change the essential character of the upper house and, hence, requires a constitutional amendment approved by at least seven provinces. The federal Tory government maintains the change is relatively minor and requires only the approval of Parliament.
Tory senators were irate about the Liberal manoeuvre.
"Nonsense, absolute nonsense,'' fumed Senator Terry Stratton.
Senator David Tkachuk said it's clear the Liberals are using their majority in the Senate to prevent S-4 from ever coming to a vote.
"Don't hide behind your larger numbers,'' he told the Liberals.
"If you don't like it, you can make an amendment or you can vote it down and that's what you should do.''
Senator Raynell Andreychuk noted that all provincial governments were invited to make submissions to the committee. Most chose not to and she said it's not the role of the committee to now try to solicit reaction to the New Brunswick position.
"We cannot engage in a consultation process between premiers. To me that's outrageous,'' she said.
Senators are currently required to retire only once they reach age 75. The bill would force them to leave after eight years.
Provided they can be satisfied that the bill is constitutional, Liberal senators have signalled that they'll amend it to extend the term to between 12 and 15 years, and clarify that no senator can sit for more than one term or beyond age 75.
