Jacques Demers Won't Quit CPC Senate Caucus

Yeah, he was thinking of it:

Ex-Habs coach-turned-Conservative Senator Jacques Demers is hinting he may quit the Senate, telling reporters that he's disgusted with the events of the past week, and believes that Canadians are tarring all senators with the same brush.

But then he thought better of it (Google-translated from the French):

The message from Prime Minister Stephen Harper before the caucus Tuesday morning.... convinced him to stay.

Ah well.  The guy's still my favorite Harper Senate appointment.  In fact I think the guy is a saint. Definitely what he did back in the 80's with the St. Louis Blues was a miracle.

McCoy Spots A Squish

Two, Actually: recent Harper Senate Appointees Nancy Greene Rain (I think that's how she's concatenated her name) and Don Plett, musing about how an elected Senate might not be such a good thing, with Mr. Plett throwing in an additional aside suggesting he's against Senate term-limits.

This last bit is, of course, absolute heresy. Plett is a Harper appointee, and as Stockwell Day wrote back in September:

To deal with the problem of it being a life-long position the Prime Minister takes an innovative approach. Whomever the Prime Minister appoints must vow to step down after 8 years, no exceptions, no excuses. So each person he recently appointed, along with the ones he appointed earlier, will be done in 8 years.

But Plett isn't the only dissident among Harper Senate appointments. Senator Jacques Demers has not only said that he will ignore any vow to step down after eight years (presumably he and Plett had their fingers crossed when Harper made them swear), he's unwilling to vote for portions of the Tory's "tough on crime" agenda. Claude Nolin has signalled that he will back private Member's bill C-232.

Which is actually fine by me. As HOC politics becomes increasingly tawdry, perhaps the Senate really is ascending towards its intended role as home of the sober 2nd thought.

PS. And another interesting post from my favorite Senator (because she said something nice to me once at a BBQ and I pledged myself to her for all infinity) suggesting that the public appetite for retooling the upper house is greatly exaggerated.

Tories Tough On Teens Agenda Hits Snag

Overhauling the Youth Criminal Justice Act had been a cornerstone of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's re-election platform, and yesterday his government tabled a bill that follows through on that promise, putting a greater emphasis on protecting the public rather than rehabilitating young offenders.

In effect, teenagers as young as 14 convicted of violent offences could be sentenced as adults and their identities no longer shielded.

Conservative Senator Jacque Demers, January 28, 2010

"I will not send a boy of 14 or 16 years to be assaulted in prison."

Sacre Bleu!

Meet Jacque Demers, Tory rebel in the Senate:

The Stephen Harper's attempt to increase penalties for young offenders will be a formidable adversary: Jacques Demers. In an interview with LCN, the conservative senator voted against this key measure of his own party.

[...]

"I will not send a boy of 14 or 16 years to be assaulted in prison."

See, I told you I liked this guy. Nobody could coach Norris Division teams back in the 80s and not develop some sympathy for the down-and-out.

PS. The above quote is a translation from the French, so it sounds a bit rough.

h/t Imp on Twitter.

As With Crime Legislation, So Too With Senate Reform

I've been arguing forever that the bulk of Harper's "tough on crime" legislation isn't meant to pass. Andrew Potter thinks (and I think I agree with him) that the same is true with Senate reform legislation:

I have a column in the Citizen today arguing that if Harper is serious about Senate reform, the appointments process is the place to focus his attention. Except I don’t actually think that Harper cares about Senate reform one way or another; like abortion in the US, it is one of those useful issues that Conservatives in Canada use to keep their base on a low boil. They are always just about to do something about it, though they never seem to get there. Senate reform for Harper is a tactical device, not part of a serious strategic agenda.


And I would just point out, that if the prorogation is meant to advance Harper's intention to begin electing senators and to set eight-year term limits, it as already failed. There's already a rogue among Harper's new appointees:

Newly minted Conservative senator and former Montreal Canadiens coach Jacques Demers says he has much to learn and more to prove.

In an interview with Sun Media, he revealed he could have been a Liberal senator, has only a peripheral interest in politics and no intention of asking electors for their support -- in spite of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's assertions new senators should run for office.

[...]

Demers expects to spend the next 10 years in the Senate, and wants to learn from his colleagues while keeping his own opinions.

Tories On Senate Reform

Stockwell Day on Senate Reform, August 31st, 2009:

To deal with the problem of it being a life-long position the Prime Minister takes an innovative approach. Whomever the Prime Minister appoints must vow to step down after 8 years, no exceptions, no excuses. So each person he recently appointed, along with the ones he appointed earlier, will be done in 8 years. That's a major change.

Newly minted Tory Senator Jacques Demers, September 19th, 2009:

Demers expects to spend the next 10 years in the Senate, and wants to learn from his colleagues while keeping his own opinions.

Either Mr. Demers has already broken his vow, or was exempted from it. Or the very existence of the "vow" is a bunch of hoo-hah meant to con Tory supporters who care about this kind of stuff.

Stockwell Day on Senate Reform, August 31st, 2009:

One more thing about the latest round of Senate appointees, each one has agreed to work hard from inside the Senate to push for reform. That means when the next federal election is called we may see senators stepping down from the Red Chamber and running for office.

Newly minted Tory Senator Jacque Demers, September 19th, 2009:

"I just did not see myself going in different places shaking hands. I am not a politician." That's why, Demers said, he won't run for office if senators are elected.

Senate Reform--a poor joke at best.

Demers Might Bail After Two Years?

I like and admire Jacque Demers. But the notion that you might bail out of your Senate seat after just 24 months if things don't go your way seems more than a little bizarre to me. Seems he's taking the whole appointment-to-the-upper-chamber thing rather lightly.

All Hail The New King

...of patronage appointments.

Although I must admit to being a fan of Jacque Demers. If you're old enough to remember what he accomplished with all those crap 80's teams in the Snorris division, you would be too. They said he was doing it "with mirrors" (little pun on his name there).

Here's our boy in action from the 1987-88 season. I'm betting he could kick Mike Duffy's ass anytime.


Note the guy on audio. Don Cherry has always been a huge fan