Prevailing opinion is that, through the “new” and “revolutionary” Senate appointment process, the Senate will finally be able to function “as it was intended.” There is nothing new about this type of appointment process. In 2012, for instance, then-prime minister Stephen Harper established an advisory committee for vice-regal appointments. Nor is it revolutionary. It is […]
Prime Minister Trudeau’s pot legalization plan bad for the country’s young people Edmonton Sun | January 11, 2017 Sen. Betty Unger, Alberta Senator Last summer the Trudeau government established a task force to study marijuana legalization and regulation. Their mandate was to consult with Canadians about developing a framework for legal access to marijuana (cannabis). […]
Published: 2017-01-03 Moncton Times & Transcript It was refreshing to read your December 17 editorial, “Reform needed in Red Chamber”. Rarely does one hear about the need for a Triple-E Senate reform these days. Attention has shifted to the elusive topic of Senate “modernization” while awareness of the need for true Senate reform has all but been lost. As a Senator […]
Alberta Senator Doug Black’s recent announcement that he has left the Conservative caucus to sit as a non-affiliated Senator is both disappointing and misleading. It implies that Senators who remain members of a political caucus are less effective Senators. Nothing could be further from the truth. Being a member of the Conservative caucus provides me […]
April 18, 2016 It’s beginning to look like a pattern: Dodge the difficult questions and defer them to the future. The Trudeau government has done it again with its euthanasia legislation. Deceptively named, “Medical assistance in dying” the legislation initially pulls back from the radical suggestions made by the Joint Committee on Physician Assisted Suicide, […]
With the Supreme Court of Canada’s (SCC) June 6 deadline looming, Parliament will soon begin debating its legislative response to the SCC’s decision on physician-assisted dying. And although personal views on this issue vary widely, all parliamentarians will be responsible to ensure that the new legislation complies with the Charter of Rights by conforming to […]
“It is a profound injustice to offer physician-assisted dying (PAD) to those suffering with mental illness. I urge you to ensure that PAD is not made available to anyone struggling under this dark cloud.” March 2, 2016 Dear Prime Minister Trudeau, As the country awaits your proposed legislation on physician-assisted dying (PAD), I am reminded […]
“Palliative care should be the priority, not physician-assisted dying. There is something terribly wrong when a government does more to guarantee that the living can die, than to ensure that the dying can live.” Last year, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the Criminal Code sections prohibiting physician-assisted suicide violate our Charter rights. After […]
Over ten years ago the Law Commission of Canada released a 209-page report recommending changes to our electoral system. While the Liberal government took no action at the time, numerous provinces launched their own reviews to examine the merits of electoral reform. Without exception, the proposals put forward by each province failed to be implemented. […]