Senate: Conservatives and Liberals team up to defend the privileges of their friends

Canadians have paid enough already for this 19th century relic, say New Democrats

OTTAWA — Conservatives and Liberals have joined forces again to defend the privileges of their Senate friends by voting against a New Democrat motion to cut off funding to this archaic institution.

“Canadians have paid enough for this anti-democratic institution and it’s high time we stopped wasting millions of taxpayers’ money on it,” said NDP Treasury Board Critic, Mathieu Ravignat (Pontiac). “Let the Conservative and Liberal parties pay the salaries of their partisan employees.”

The New Democrat motion would have cut the Senate’s budget, a measure that would not have required a constitutional amendment.

“Senators have abused taxpayers’ money,” said Ravignat. “As New Democrats, we believe that they require neither salaries nor assistants. They can remain senators, but only if they sit as volunteers.”

New Democrats have recently launched a campaign to abolish the Senate:
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