Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he wanted a more independent Senate, and he’s getting it in spades now. On Wednesday, the Senate Liberal leader hammered Trudeau over the government’s omnibus budget bill, saying the prime minister has abandoned his election pledge and that senators would be “abdicating” their duty if they passed it without amendments. “The more I examine this omnibus budget bill, the more questions I have,” said Sen. Joseph Day, who was appointed by Jean Chrétien in 2001 and leads the group of Senate Liberals. (In 2013, as part of his effort to shape an independent Senate, Trudeau released the Liberals from his caucus.) “This is not what I was expecting of the government.”The speech comes as the government has been pressuring senators to pass the budget bill by the summer recess.

Source: National Post June 15, 2017 02:03 UTC