Statement made on 08 December 2011 by Senator Wilfred Moore
Hon. Wilfred P. Moore:
Honourable senators, I think that in his remarks, Senator Cowan was trying to impress upon the chamber the question of privilege that has been breached, being the privilege of the house being complicit in proceeding with the consideration of a bill that has not been met in law. Aside from the decision of the court yesterday, that still faces us as well. I think he is on point.
Senator Carignan mentioned the rule of law and the evolution of it and so on in controlling the king. As our nation and the Constitution have evolved, from our point of view, it is controlling the executive. That is one of the main jobs of this chamber, honourable senators, one of the very roles for which we were created by the Fathers of Confederation.
On November 24, Senator Brown said, "if a party gets a majority government, they are able to change laws and make amendments to laws." He went on to say: "I am saying that a majority government has a right to change that act or any other act that they want to."
Well, that is right. That is absolutely correct. However, of course, that is founded on the expectation by him and the government that those who live in this country would follow those new laws. It does not say that one does not have to follow the laws that are on the books today. That is the key point here. We have a law that, whether people like it or not, is there. For a Minister of the Crown not to uphold it is unconscionable. Members of the cabinet are the proverbial role models for the country. They are not above the law, and they are expected to keep the law. For us to be asked to be complicit in an exercise and a process where that main link in the chain is not there, I do not think is right.
I think Senator Plett and Senator Segal said we had three election campaigns. That is true, but I do not remember hearing anyone say, "We are going to get rid of the Canadian Wheat Board, and to do that, we are going to break the law." I never heard that. I never heard anyone tell the farmers — this is bigger than farmers, by the way, honourable senators. This goes right to the heart of our democracy. This speaks to all Canadians. I never heard anyone say, "We will achieve our goal by ignoring or breaking the law of Canada." People would have been in the streets. How can we go about it in this surreptitious way and think we are doing justice to the country and to the Canadian public? I think it is wrong.
The matter of democracy is a fragile thing and it is fundamentally based on the rule of law. That is what we expect our governors, our citizens, and all branches of government to do. That is at the core of our civil society. Without that, what are we reduced to? A proverbial banana republic? That is not who we are. That is not how the people of the world look to Canada.
Senator Cowan's remarks, in terms of trying to impress upon us in the chamber that this is indeed a question of privilege, I think he is correct.
Your Honour, you have an exemplary career in human rights. All of those rights, and the exercise and observance of them, are founded on the rule of law. This is not a part-time thing. The rule of law is not a matter of convenience, depending on who is in power. It is not on intermittent thing; it is a full-time thing and it is to be observed by everyone. I would suggest to Your Honour that the question of privilege as raised by Senator Cowan is correct, and I would ask you to find so.
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