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Monday, August 29, 2005

rath of the patronage gods

It seems the patronage gods are having a hard time quenching their thirst...

...two new Senate appointments today...

Yoine Goldstein (Quebec-Liberal): A Montreal Lawyer

Francis Fox (Quebec-Liberal): Corporate Executive; Martin Confidant; Former Trudeau Cabinet Minister who was forced to resign from cabinet in 1978, when it was revealed that he had forged the signature of his girlfriend's husband on a form granting permission for her to have an abortion. (At the time, the husband's consent was needed for the procedure.)

There are now three vacancies in the Senate: two in New Bruswick, and one in Prince Edward Island (Stompin' Tom still has a chance!).

The current party standings in the Senate are...

Liberal - 67
Conservative - 24
Progressive Conservative - 5
New Democratic - 1
Independent - 5
Vacant - 3
TOTAL - 105

9 comments:

ainge lotusland said...

well, lets hope francis fox doesnt still have mistresses for whom he needs to fraudulently produce abortion documents

Michael Fox said...

You've got to be kidding me..

Have they no shame?

daveberta said...

It may be a stacked deck, but it'll only take about 15 to 20 years of Conservative governments before all the Liberal Senator's hit 75 and are replaced by appointed Tory Senators...

Man this system sucks.

Robert McBean. said...

unless there is a plane crash on the way to some senate hearing in nunavit. oh my, that was a horrible little thought.

Michael Fox said...

I wonder why some people claim to be worried about social conservatives..

A non-Liberal government will not be able to do ANYTHING with the Senate under such heavy Liberal control.

Robert McBean. said...

the senate is a quagmire. it can't do its job of being a counter-balance because it is not elected and years of patronage has made it impossible for emerging parties or movements to get their people in the senate.

i get a headache just thinking of all the reasons why you can't change the status quo. at the very least, they could change the lifetime appointment to a fixed term. how hard could that be? i'd bet that constitutional change would sail right through.

i'm really quite disappointed that the Liberal party has not made senate reform a higher priority.

Gauntlet said...

Civil disobedience. Me likes. Here's a question: How firm is party support in the senate, given that the parties have little or no control over the senators?

Nastyboy said...

How firm is party support in the senate, given that the parties have little or no control over the senators?

You'd never get the appointment unless you \'ve proven yourself to be a loyal toadie to begin with.

Michael Fox said...

The Liberal party may not control the Liberal senators.. the Liberal senators control the Liberal party.

These are the bagmen of Chretien and Martin, after all.