The Toronto Star
August 5, 2006
The Record (Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo)
August 8, 2006
Headline: It's possible to reform and improve Canada's Senate
Times & Transcript (Moncton)
August 8, 2006
Headline: Moving toward a 21st century Senate
By Marjory LeBreton
While Canadians recognize that the Senate plays a valuable role in reviewing legislation, studying important policy issues, and representing regional interests, most also agree that basic, fundamental principles that underlie our democratic institutions, including accountability, legitimacy and effective representation, must be addressed. Despite lengthy debates and various attempts at reform, the Senate has remained essentially unchanged since its first sitting on Nov. 16, 1867. Many would argue that our 19th-century Senate has not kept pace with the 21st century expectations of Canadians about their political institutions. Public opinion polls over the last two decades have told us that Canadians wish to see changes to the Senate, and efforts at reform formed part of broader constitutional initiatives in the 1980s and 1990s. Both the Meech Lake accord and the Charlottetown accord proposed significant changes to the Senate, but because these accords also focused on major, comprehensive constitutional reform in many other areas, Senate reform, while a key aspect of each proposal, failed because it was inextricably intertwined with the much larger package. When the Meech and Charlottetown agreements failed, the hopes for Senate reform, despite its merits and broad support, were dashed. As Prime Minister Stephen Harper has observed, the "all or nothing" approach of previous governments resulted in nothing. This is precisely the reason that Canada's new government has taken a fundamentally different route We are pursuing a staged approach that will provide practical, incremental, sensible reforms that will build a foundation for more fundamental future reform. In the Speech from the Throne to open the 39th Parliament, the government committed to "explore means to ensure that the Senate better reflects both the democratic values of Canadians and the needs of Canada's regions." The Prime Minister also said publicly that he will strive to implement the government's commitment to establish a national process for choosing elected Senators prior to the next general election. As a first step, the government introduced legislation (Bill S-4) to limit the tenure of Senate appointments to eight years, rather than the current provisions whereby appointees can retain office until age 75. Length of tenure is a key concern of Canadians, and terms of up to a possible 45 years are inconsistent with their view of what Canada's democratic institutions should look like. These concerns are not new. The 1981 report of the Canada West Foundation Task Force on Regional Representation recommended renewable terms, limited to the life of two parliamentary terms. In 1989, the Molgat-Cosgrove report advocated a nine-year, non-renewable term, and concluded that this measure could be implemented by the Parliament of Canada on its own initiative. Changing the tenure of senators to eight years will enhance the legitimacy of the Senate and, accordingly, enhance its role in providing sober second thought in the federal legislative process. A longer tenure than that in the House of Commons reinforces the independence of the Senate and will provide sufficient time for a senator to gain experience and put his or her expertise to good use. Despite the claims of some, I see absolutely no danger that the Senate would be bereft of experience under this proposal. In fact, eight-year terms will provide a renewal of ideas and perspectives on a more regular basis. The proposal to set the length of tenure at eight years does not change the method of appointment, the powers of the Senate, or the distribution of seats, which are known as "essential characteristics of the Senate." Altering essential characteristics requires the use of the more demanding amending formula contained in the Constitution Act, which requires the support of the provinces. It is clear that Bill S-4 can be enacted by Parliament alone, as was done in 1965 when life tenure for senators was changed to the present mandatory retirement at age 75. Comprehensive change that will make the Senate an effective, independent and democratically elected body that equitably represents all regions will require the consent of at least seven provinces representing 50 per cent of the population because these moves would alter "essential characteristics" of the Senate. This will take more time. Therefore, in proposing a Senate tenure of eight years, the government has taken a significant first step toward ensuring that this important democratic institution evolves in step with the expectations of Canadians. It is a step that stands on its own as laudable and reasonable. Even if this was as far as we were able to proceed in the short term, this measure, in and of itself, represents a significant improvement to the status quo, and will provide a solid foundation for further reforms. Senator Marjory LeBreton is the Conservative government's leader in the Senate.