We really should be shocked by the behaviour of senators in our national government's upper house.
But we're not.
Sadly, most of us have come to expect the sense of entitlement and arrogance that has come to the fore lately.
From Sen. Patrick Brazeau's dismal attendance record and criminal charges, to Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin's blurring of the line on residency allowances, Canadians are fed up. But what are we going to do about it? If the past is anything to go on, not much, unfortunately.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been pushing for Senate reform, but even Conservative senators have blocked his attempts at term limits. They're too happy feeding at the public trough to give up their cushy positions, which are currently guaranteed until their 75th birthdays.
And why would they, when they can retire to Mexico and not show up for work for years at a time, as one senator famously did.
The fact that two journalists who previously took elected officials to task are now themselves on the hotseat is disappointing, indeed.
And it's further proof that attempts at reform have been a dismal failure.
Forget about stacking the Senate with loyalists, just get rid of the thing altogether.
That's easier said than done, but is one of the options Harper has asked the Supreme Court to consider. And there seems to be growing public and provincial support for the idea.
Maybe it's an idea whose time has finally come.
- Managing Editor
Jon Manchester