The Canadian Senate has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately. Most senators do valuable work . There are a few whose arrogance and undeserved sense of entitlement legitimately angers Canadians.That diminishes whatever little credibility the body has in the eyes of most Canadians.
The Senate lost much legitimacy during the Preston Manning led Reform assault on it. Reform Party pushed for a"tripple e Senate", a concept based on the US model. It did not jibe with our system of government then. Nor does it today.
The first hurdle is our Constitution, a carefully crafted document that has withstood the test of time. The structure of the Senate is enshrined in it. It requires Seven Provinces with at least 51% of the population agreeing to change it. That is just the basic legal requirement.Other national imperatives dictate a much more substantial consensus bordering on unanimity.
I do not believe Quebec will agree to a relative weakening of its position any time soon. So there is no question of consensus
let alone unanimity on any change in the number of senators allotted to BC or Alberta. AS the numbers stand there is significant under representation for these two provinces at least.
So if one "reforms" the Senate by electing senators with the existing numbers, one of the inevitable consequences will be a demand for more powers for the elected senate. As a British Columbian I would not want a more powerful Senate where the number are atrociously unjust to BC.
If one follows the so called "Tripple E" Senate to its logical conclusion assuming each Province will have equal number of senators(eg5), one will have to agree that begins to look very much like the US Senate. Once elected and equal the Senators are bound to ask and demand more powers . Gradually our finely crafted and structured Parliament will begin and act more like the US Congress. Any one that has been paying any attention to the clearly obstructionist goings on south of the border will have to agree the "Tripple E" Senate would certainly be a disaster.
Hence we come to the argument for abolition. Some Provinces like including Quebec will never agree to it . Any Canadian familiar with the absolutely legal repatriation and amendment of our Constitution enshrining the Charter of Rights and Freedoms ,to which Quebec did not affix its consent, will know that the ghost of separatism exploited deftly by narrow nationalistic politicians is never too far to be fetched again into the political arena.
One must not be afraid of change. A change that might not do any good but may have the potential of immeasurable harm ought to be avoided.
Is the Senate in need of reform? Yes, but not the kind Reformers and the abolitionists want to bring. The Senate needs a rigorous system of transparency and accountability and possibly a threat of being fired for some specifically enumerated causes including the kind Duffy/Wallin are accused of.
This will allow the Senate to act as it was intended to -the chamber for sober second thought.
To the Reformers and the abolitionists I say : Think of the consequences.