Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. The senators
have been aching for a raise for some time now.
Perhaps they deserve one, having rid themselves
of a colleague, Sen. Andrew Thompson, whom the
senators convicted without a trial. It took some doing.
They went against the old legal maxim:
Nullum crimen sine lege, nulla poena
sine lege -- no crime without a law, no
penalty without a law.
Andrew Thompson is gone from the Senate
now, but it has been fascinating to read
about his life and times in the newspapers.
I enjoy good fiction on a hot summer's day,
and the media put their best efforts into
discrediting Andrew Thompson.
This senator must have a double.
It would be impossible for one man to do the
work he has done -- and at the same time
soak up Mexican sun. I congratulate the media
for such imagination. But it must have been
a slow year for news, and necessity is the
mother of invention. Those pages had to
be filled, one way or another. I am awaiting
a sequel to the story, entitled "I Was A
Senator's Double".
The freeloader portrayed in the newspapers
cannot possibly be my husband, who was always
a hard worker. But the man in the media
is funny and gave a lot of laughs to readers.
That in itself is worhtwhile. Who would get
a kick out of reading about a man who does
his job? That's dull, dull, dull.
The man in the papers bears no resemblance
to my husband, but he is most amusing. A
regular guy. Squeezing the taxpayers for
what they're worth, visiting bars and
restaurants, joking with his drinking buddies,
spending time in upscale paint stores to
decorate his already painted house, locking
is beloved little terrier in the car for
two hours, sending Mafiosi to try to scare
off an earnest reporter.
Who can blame the intrepid investigating
reporters? They had problems from the start,
writing that Senator Thompson sent planeloads
of humanitarian materials to Bosnia when in
fact,the planes went to Mexico. So what that
another investigator mixed up the Senator's
Ontario residence with that of a neighbour's
who was active with tractors and vehicles?
My husband was always hopelessly lost with
mechanical things.
Nevertheless, the caucus whip, after reading
of the vigorous lifestyle of this young neighbor
(identified in the press as being Senator
Thompson), dashed off to tell the Prime
Minister that Senator Thompson had spent the
summer riding on a tractor! Without bothering
to check, the Prime Minister "booted" Senator
Thompson out of caucus.
That made a heck of a story!
The press created the illusion that the
senator had maintained a house in La Paz for
many years. In fact, until this year, he had
lived in rented accommodations when he needed
to come for treatments for cancer. He had
recently bought a house which he planned to
use after his retirement since rentals tended
to be expensive. The paparazzi descended on
La Paz last fall. They stayed in the most
expensive hotel and bragged to drinking
buddies in a nearby grill that they
were here to "get" Senator Thompson. The
Americans at the grill thought them somewhat
ludicrous -- not quite Washington Post
standard. The Canadian reporters, unable to
get an interview with Senator Thompson who
was ill, invented stories of their own.
Unnamed sources were alleged to have seen
Senator Thompson in bars and restaurants,
freely spending the money of Canadian taxpayers.
Columnists, whom the senator did not know,
started writing stories claiming they knew him
well. A retired seaman from Liverpool was
alleged to be the senator's best "pal".
This pal seemed unaware of the fact that over
three years my husband and I were hit by a
drunk in a serious head-on crash. My hip was
broken, and I had seriuos problems with all
the fractures. He was quoted as saying that
I should be kicked out of bed. His crude
remarks were published by a large Ottawa
newspaper!
Fabrications cascaded across the press and
other media. Facts were incidental. All that
mattered was that the story was sufficiently
dramatic. A recent survey claims that 54% of
Canadians want to abolish the Senate. I myself
have suggested that every senator be given a computer,
a fax, a telephone and be told to
work from home. Canadians seem to be very
apathetic about this issue. Maybe they have
simply given up. The problem is that the
senators would have to vote for their own
abolishment. With a new raise in their pockets,
they are not likely to do that in the near
future. I really hoped for a reformed Senate
for the millennium -- now I do not think we
will see much reform. The senators are very
comfortable just as they are.
I would like to hear from Canadians
who are interested in this issue.
** Do we want the Senate in its present form?
** Do we want it all?
** If not, do you have any suggestions about
what should be done?
** How do senators affect your life?
** Do we just take this anachronistic institution for granted?