Mr. Speaker, Senator Andrew Thompson is one of the reasons why Canadians have such a low opinion of our upper House.
Senator Thompson's attendance record is the worst in the Senate. He shows up about once every two years and yet he continues to collect his pay cheque of around $85,000 per year.
This not only brings into question the internal workings of the Senate, but obviously senators cannot or refuse to police themselves. It also begs the question that if the prime minister has the power to appoint senators should he not have the power to dismiss senators.
As Mr. Thompson is a former Ontario Liberal leader, it is doubtful our prime minister would toss him out despite Senator Thompson's being the most rotten apple in an ancient—