Blog - Politics

When Laurier LaPierre was named to the Senate many years ago, it ensured that the former Vancouver journalist's financial woes were over forever.

Pat Carney is another former journalist who made it to the Senate. However, she quit her career at the Vancouver Sun and moved into electoral politics long before her leap into one of the most cushy jobs in the country.

In recent years, many more media people have won the equivalent of the lottery by being named to the upper chamber. Former Montreal Gazette editor Joan Fraser is just one of a wave of appointments in recent years.

Jean Chretien put her in the Senate in 1998 after Conrad Black's company fired her. Chretien also named Jim Munson, a former CTV reporter, to the Senate. First, Chretien hired him as a press secretary—after he was cut loose from CTV—before giving him the ultimate political reward.

Harper has named Pamela Wallin (who spent time in between journalism and the Senate as a diplomat in New York), former CTV talk-show host Mike Duffy, and, yesterday, former National Post columnist Linda Frum Sokolowski to the Senate. Sokolowski's brother is David Frum, a former George W. Bush speechwriter.

Duff Conacher at Democracy Watch has criticized what he calls the "revolving door". This is when political aides and politicians become lobbyists on behalf of special interests shortly after leaving government.

The problem with the revolving door is that it creates an incentive for politicians and political aides to try to curry favour with those special interests. They know that if they play their cards right, they won't have to worry about finding employment when their government service ends.

Now, we're in the strange situation of having a revolving door for journalists. If they don't step on too many toes, they know they might be in a position to land in the Senate, thanks to the actions of recent prime ministers.

I have no doubt that some of these former journalists are excellent senators. LaPierre and Carney both worked exceptionally hard during their tenure. That's not the point. The issue is the revolving door—and how prime ministers are creating incentives for some journalists to suck up to them. It's got to stop.