The Canadian Senate: Time for Change

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the issue of senate reform in Canada, a major topic of political concern for a long while. The paper maintains that, despite various attempts, such as in Meech Lake and Charlottetown, there has yet to be any substantial improvements to the Senate of Canada. It argues that the Canadian Senate must be reformed to increase its effectiveness. The paper concludes that, although Prime Minister Stephen Harper can be seen to be pushing for improvements, Canada also look to other nations with similar governments as examples on how to effectively alter the Senate.

From the Paper:

"A brief history of the Canadian Senate is necessary to fully comprehend the issues affecting it. The Senate became an official component of the Parliament of Canada in 1867 with the passing of the British North America Act. As Canada's system of governance is based on the British Westminster model, so was the Senate modeled after the elitist British House of Lords. John A. MacDonald referred to the Senate as a place of "sober second thought", intended to represent the interests of the people in various Canadian regions. Unfortunately, throughout the decades this has not occurred, and personal and party interests frequently override regional ones. Ordinarily the Senate consists of 105 members, although currently there are 93 sitting Senators . These members are chosen by the Governor General on the advice of the current Prime Minister . Once appointed, a Senator may serve until the age of seventy five years. Seats are assigned on a regional basis with each region supposedly receiving the representation of 24 Senators (Refer to Appendix 1). As is obvious in the chart, many parts of Canada are under- represented, an issue which will be tackled later in this paper. Those fortunate enough to obtain a position within the Upper House, receive a basic sessional salary of $122,700 (2006) . In addition to this salary, many senators receive additional salaries for various duties and a vehicle and residence allowance for certain Senators."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Canada. Parliament of Canada. (2007). Senators and Members. Retrieved March 20, 2007 from: http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/SenatorsMembers_senate.asp?Language=E&Sect=sencur
• Canada. Parliament of Canada. (2007). Indemnities, Salaries and Allowances of Senators: 1867 to Date. Retrieved March 20, 2007 from: http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/process/info/Salary.asp?Language=E&param=S
• Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2007 from: http://dictionary.reference.com/
• Gibson, Gordon. (September 2004). Challenges in Senate Reform: Conflicts of Interest, Unintended Consequences, New Possibilities [Electronic Version]. Public Policy Sources, #83, pg. 3. Retrieved March 20, 2007 from: http://www.frasierinstitute.ca/admin/books/files/challenegesinsenatereform.pdf
• Harper, Stephen. (September 7, 2006). Senate Reform. Retrieved March 17, 2007 from: http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?id=1306

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