Overview Of The Obstruction Handbook By Sir John A. Macdonald

Canada’s constitution was created on, July 1, 1867, which established Canada’s bicameral parliamentary system consisting of the House of Commons and the Senate. The Founding Fathers of Confederation created the Senate as a complimentary chamber to the House of Commons, where its most important functions are to review legislation and act as a forum where the voices of the province’s regional interests can be heard. Sir John A. Macdonald made an interesting point that the Senate must never set itself in opposition against the understood wishes of the people (Forsey 2015). This statement by Sir John A. Macdonald is thought provoking because the Senate has faced controversy over whether its appointment process is affecting the Senate’s function

However, party identities are hand picking the leader of government and opposition in the Senate so they can continue to tow the party line by minimizing debate and public commentary so that senators will act in the interest of the party line to pass legislation (Forsey 2015). The Conservative party in 2007 used a tactic called the “obstruction handbook” which was a way to promote their party line agenda by selecting witnesses and coaching them so they will contribute to the party line discussion (Forsey 2015). The most concerning idea of the “obstruction handbook” was how it coached senators to effectively disrupt committee proceedings, shut them down, and make sure no committee answers are ever recorded or portrayed in the media (Forsey 2015). This is another way the Senate is unaccountable to the Canadian people because the party whips are using tactics to persuade senators to follow the party line rather than the Canadian citizens’ interests. Public consultations in committees are very important because it allows for Canadian citizens to talk about the effects a bill may have on their community. With debate and public consultation being minimized because of obstructions by party lines, citizens are not able to effectively voice their opinions in Senate committees so senators will act in their interests to either approve or deny legislation. If public consultation and debate is shut down from reaching committees then the Senate cannot hear public opinions on how a piece of legislation may impact their community, which severely restricts the Senate from being responsible to the Canadian citizen’s interests while voting on a bill. Although the government says that Senate committees provide public consultation on the legislation being passed, this notion is false because senators shut down any debate that will affect how they view the legislation and