Liberals seek more distance from senators
MPs want to change party constitution
OTTAWA — Liberal members of Parliament are seeking to formally sever ties with the scandal-plagued Senate by having all references to senators removed from the party’s constitution.
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau announced this week he was dumping 32 senators from the party caucus in an effort to eliminate partisanship and patronage, and return the upper chamber to its original purpose as a place of sober second thought.
But the Liberal party constitution still lists senators as members of caucus, as well as automatic delegates at party conventions. It also says there is always supposed to be at least one senator sitting on a powerful internal committee that helps develop Liberal election platforms, though the party said there hasn’t been an active senator on the committee in some time.
Deputy Liberal Leader Ralph Goodale said removing all mention of senators from the constitution is an administrative step needed to fulfil Trudeau’s vision of a less partisan Red Chamber.
“A number of things will have to be adjusted to implement the new reality,” Goodale said.
To formalize the move, Goodale, national caucus chair Francis Scarpaleggia, House leader Dominic Leblanc and House whip Judy Foote have written Liberal president Mike Crawley asking the party’s national board of directors to work on amending the constitution.
“The Constitution does identify clear roles and responsibilities for caucus which need to be adjusted to reflect our new caucus reality,” reads the letter, which was obtained from Trudeau’s office.
“We urge the National Board to develop a process for amending the (Liberal party) constitution to remove reference to senators and to operate immediately in a manner that is consistent with only elected members of Parliament being part of the LPC national caucus.”
The NDP accused Trudeau on Friday of breaking his party’s own rules by unilaterally excluding senators from caucus without getting the Liberal constitution changed first.
Any constitutional amendment requires support from two-thirds of delegates at a national convention.
“I think this shows that the Liberal leader drew this up on the back of a napkin,” NDP deputy leader Nathan Cullen said. “What he suggested on Wednesday was illegal in his constitution. God help us if he ever has to interpret the Canadian constitution.”
But Liberals rushed to Trudeau’s defence, insisting the Liberal leader does have the power to decide who is part of caucus.
“The constitution is clear in terms of the leader is the one that determines who is in caucus,” said Crawley said. “It’s the leader’s purview to determine what comprises caucus.”
Either way, it could be several years before the change is formalized.
While a convention will be held in Montreal in three weeks,the deadline for submitting proposed constitutional amendments has passed.