I stand by my assessment of the Senator

The Prime Minister's Office seems upset with NDP MP Pat Martin.  The Conservatives are crying a river over an incident in which Conservative Senator  Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu suggested, “Each assassin should have the right to a rope in his cell to make a decision about his or her life,”. 


While the public and many of us have little sympathy for people who kill others, the Senator's words are abhorrent in a just society.  Next I suggest the Senator will be calling on others in prison to be offered the choice to live or die at their own hands.  


Pat Martin responded quickly to the outrageous remarks of the Senator.  Martin called the Senator an asshole.  It seems in the genteel atmosphere of the Senate one cannot call things for what they are.  


Martin could have used lighter language, if he did of course no one would be looking at what these Conservatives are doing.  The Harper Government will soon be building billions of dollars in prisons, putting kids in jail and establishing harsher sentences for everyone from the casual pot grower to to the big time dealer. They are one and the same in the eyes of the Conservatives.  

Mr. Martin is not moved, however: “I stand by my assessment of the Senator and my reaction to his outrageous remarks,” he says. “If his grief clouds his judgment to such an extent, he has no business crafting criminal justice policy.” - Globe and Mail

As Martin points out, next week is National Suicide Prevention week, 90% of suicides in prison are from hanging.

I suspect the Harper majority would like nothing better than to stop Mr. Martin from speaking out. He is after all an effective communicator, who doesn't dance around the elephant in the room. Mr. Martin's language is far more parliamentary than the Harper Government's behavior.