VZCZCXYZ0002
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHOT #0126/01 0322052
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 012051Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0325
INFO ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS OTTAWA 000126 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV CA
SUBJECT: CANADA: CONSERVATIVES GAIN CONTROL OF SENATE 
 
REF: 08 OTTAWA 1577; 09 OTTAWA 909; OTTAWA 84 
 
¶1. (SBU)  Summary: Prime Minister Harper has gained effective 
control of the Senate in the next session of Parliament following 
the appointment of five new Conservative Senators, which gives his 
party a working plurality in the upper house for the first time. 
The shift should strengthen the Conservatives' ability to expedite 
passage of their policy agenda -- particularly on key crime and 
justice issues -- and increase chances for limited Senate reform. 
The Conservatives will take over as Senate committee chairs when 
Parliament resumes on March 3.  The new balance of power allows the 
Prime Minister to put a Conservative stamp on the institution now, 
while also ensuring a strong Conservative influence for years to 
come.  End summary. 
 
 
 
CONSERVATIVES IN CHARGE IN THE RED CHAMBER 
 
 
 
¶2.  (U)  Upon the recommendation of Prime Minister Stephen Harper 
on January 29, Governor General Michaelle Jean appointed five new 
Conservative Senators (see para six for details).  After long 
opposing appointment of senators absent some sort of provincial 
elections, PM Harper began naming Conservative Senators in December 
2008 (ref a); he has now named a total of 33.  When Parliament 
returns on March 3, Conservative Senators will have a plurality of 
51 seats over 49 Liberals in the 105-seat upper chamber.  There are 
also five Independents, most of who tend to vote with the 
government.  If he remains in office until year's end, PM Harper 
will have the opportunity to replace one Conservative and two 
Liberal Senators facing mandatory retirement at age 75.  The 
Conservatives will also gain control of Senate committee chairs 
after March 3, once the committees reconstitute following the 
December prorogation (ref b). 
 
 
 
FULL AHEAD ON ANTI-CRIME AGENDA 
 
 
 
¶3.  (U)  In a statement introducing the new Senators, PM Harper 
explicitly linked the new appointments with his government's 
tough-on-crime agenda, which he identified as "one of its highest 
priorities."   He argued that the opposition had "abused their 
Senate majority by obstructing and eviscerating law and order 
measures that are urgently needed and strongly supported by 
Canadians."  He underscored that the appointees were "committed to 
community safety and justice for the victims of crime," adding that 
"I look forward to working with each towards making our communities 
safer and protecting families from crime." 
 
 
 
¶4.  (U)  Justice Minister Rob Nicholson separately on January 29 
held a news conference to attack the Liberals as "soft on crime." 
He announced that the government would reintroduce key justice 
bills that had lapsed when Parliament prorogued in December, 
including a bill (C-15) to impose mandatory minimum sentences for 
serious drug crimes.  He noted that the government would - 
unusually -- introduce C-15 first in the Senate.  In the previous 
session, the Liberal majority in the Senate had weakened the 
mandatory minimums in the bill to preserve judicial discretion. 
Liberal Senators had also tried (and failed) to amend a bill to 
eliminate enhanced credit for pre-trial detention.  However, of the 
17 crime bills introduced by the Conservatives in the previous 
session, only two spent more than six months in the Senate, and 
most died on the order paper when the Conservatives prorogued 
Parliament (ref c). 
 
 
 
STILL COMMITTED TO REFORM 
 
 
 
¶5.  (U)  The Prime Minister pledged that his government would 
continue to push for "a more democratic, accountable and effective" 
Senate.  Although legally eligible to serve until 75 years of age, 
all of the new appointees (as in the 2008 appointments) have 
reportedly promised to support Conservative legislation limiting 
their terms to eight years.  The appointments attracted no apparent 
pushback from the Conservative base, which reportedly has accepted 
the tactics of Senate appointments in order to achieve the greater 
 
goal of Senate reform. 
 
 
 
¶6.  (U)  The five new Senators represent Quebec, Ontario, New 
Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador.   Three have political 
experience as provincial politicians, and two have provincial 
cabinet experience, including one in Public Safety, Security, 
Justice and Correctional Services portfolios.  The list of 
appointees follows: 
 
 
 
-- Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu (Quebec), victims' rights advocate 
 
-- Bob Runciman (Ontario), member of the Ontario Legislature 
 
--Vim Kochhar (Ontario), businessman and philanthropist 
 
-- Elizabeth Marshall (NL), member of the Newfoundland Legislature 
 
-- Rose-May Poirier (NB), member of the New Brunswick Legislature 
 
 
 
LIBERAL RESPONSE:  HYPOCRISY! 
 
 
 
¶7.  (U)  Liberal opposition leader Michael Ignatieff accused PM 
Harper of hypocrisy over the latest appointments, arguing that the 
PM had failed to respect his political base by breaking his pledge 
not to appoint senators.  He defended the Senate as doing good work 
"fundamental to Canadian democracy" in double-checking the Commons' 
bills, and claimed that PM Harper had used the previously 
Liberal-dominated Senate as a constitutional scapegoat for stalling 
his agenda.  He insisted that the Liberals also support Senate 
reform in principle.  On January 31, he laid out some "do-able" 
Senate reform ideas of his own, including twelve-year term limits 
(versus the Conservatives' proposal of eight-year terms) and an 
independent commission to approve Senate candidates proposed by a 
Prime Minister.  Ignatieff promised to push for these reforms in 
consultation with the provinces, which have a constitutional role 
in approving any significant changes to the Senate.  However, he 
added that "I don't think that Senate reform is the highest 
priority of the hard-pressed middle class of this country."  Other 
Liberal MPs criticized Harper for diminishing the historical 
independent role of the Senate by making it an extension of his 
partisan caucus. 
 
 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Comment:  The Conservatives have used Senate reform and 
law-and-order as political "wedge" issues to bolster their base and 
to label the Liberals as soft-on-crime.  In doing so, the 
Conservatives have often overstated the Senate's ability to 
obstruct legislation.  The Conservatives' new Senate role marks an 
important shift, enhancing the current government's ability to 
advance its own agenda and putting a more conservative - and 
Conservative -- ideological stamp on the Senate that will last for 
years, regardless of which party forms the next government. 
JACOBSON