Every so often a politician appears on the scene that has an influential and lasting impact on the direction of government policy. Tommy Douglas helped usher in medicare. Preston Manning helped convince Canadians of the need to balance our budget. Enter Senator Colin Kenny, who may be the impetus to usher in real senate reform.

Senator Kenny was appointed to the senate in 1984 by way of one of the last patronage benders of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. When he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 75 in 2018, he will have sat in Canada's upper chamber for over 30 years.

Senator Kenny made headlines last fall when he, as committee chairman, led the Senate's National Security and Defence Committee on a magical mystery tour to the Middle East with an alleged goal of stopping in Afghanistan. Documents from military officials clearly show that prior to their departure from Canada, it was made known to Senator Kenny a trip to Afghanistan was not an option for security reasons. Undeterred, the Kenny-led committee set sail. As warned, they couldn't get into Afghanistan, so instead they holed-up for a week in a luxurious hotel in Dubai to "work on a report" and attend a meeting. The cost to taxpayers for the hotel alone A cool $30,000 for four senators and three staff members.

In total, the junket cost $150,000; all within the rules of the Senate of Canada we're told. On November 9, 2006, the Senate Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration (of which Senator Kenny is a member) concluded, "no misuse of funds" occurred. Staying seven days in Dubai for a three-hour meeting is apparently perfectly legitimate.

In May 2007, the same committee admonished former Senate staffer Jeffrey Kroeker. Mr. Kroeker's crime He released receipts from the seven day stay in Dubai. Without Mr. Kroeker's whistle-blowing, this committee's clear abuse of public money would never have seen the light of day.

Initially, as news of the Dubai junket broke, Senator Kenny went on the attack accusing the Harper government of trying to discredit the Senate as a whole. While the Conservatives are no fans of the status quo in the Red Chamber, even Liberal Senators questioned Senator Kenny's use of funds. Upon hearing of the committee's request for a $914,000 budget in March 2005, Liberal Senator Serge Joyal remarked: "when I voted in favour of creating the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence, it was not inherent that the committee would be spending $1-million per year to travel around the world."

More recently, when the same committee was granted a $957,360 budget, Liberal Senator Paul Massicotte voted against the request and two other Liberal Senators - Willie Adams and Charlie Watt - abstained. This is over half the total budget for all Senate committees combined.

Senator Kenny spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayers money on travel with next to no oversight, admonishing staff for having the temerity to disclose how tax dollars are spent and reacting angrily to any scrutiny reminds Canadians why 30 to 40 year terms for unelected officials is an accountability albatross.

These inexcusable actions drive home the need for Senate reform - if not outright abolition. Senator Kenny's shenanigans help explain why the Liberal-dominated Senate attempted to thwart the Accountability Act and more recently opposed eight-year term limits for future Senate appointments.

As Senate reform marches forward, perhaps someday both political historians and those who simply want their politicians to be more accountable will look back and thank Senator Kenny for demonstrating to Canadians why reform to the Red Chamber was so sorely needed.

Adam Taylor is National Research Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation