Reality check: Senator Neufeld: Unelected, unaccountable, and loving it!

The Honourable Senator Richard Neufeld, appointed politician and Conservative environmental spokesperson, yesterday told the Senate of his new devotion to entitlement and the status quo:

“I am a firm believer that the appointment process is quick and cheap. You can have regional representation and do all kinds of things. You can get a cross-section of the people that you want in this place to be those involved in the sober second thought process.” (Debates of the Senate, July 7, 2010)

What is not quick and cheap, however, is Richard Neufeld’s tenure as an unelected, unaccountable Senator. Until his mandatory retirement in 2019, Senator Neufeld will cost Canadians approximately $1,582,000 in salary and $724,000 in office expenses.

Along with his newfound role as an Ottawa insider, Senator Neufeld is also the lead for the Harper government on holding up the Climate Change Accountability Act, C-311 (Globe and Mail, Jun. 30, 2010).

Why did the Conservatives pick Senator Neufeld? Just look at some of his past statements:

On Kyoto: "It's nuts, what the federal government is doing," then B.C. Energy Minister Richard Neufeld
- Sep 5 2002, The Peterborough Examiner

Drill baby, Drill!: "We want to actually work with the federal government to get the drilling ban lifted sooner, rather than later," - Apr 21 2006, Vancouver Sun

What’s wrong with Ottawa?

We can start with the broken promises of Harper’s government, his failure to bring reform to the Senate and failure to support the New Democrat’s popular Climate Change Accountability Act. If they weren’t already obvious, all of these failures are underscored by Harper’s appointee, Richard Neufeld and his abysmal record.