Carney must act now to reform the Senate

The Senate no longer reflects the basic democratic standards Canadians expect from their government

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Most Canadians don’t do a whole lot of thinking about the Senate.

The Liberals don’t even have a formal caucus in the chamber anymore. And the vast majority of important legislation passed by Parliament originates from the House of Commons.

But here’s the thing: just because most Canadians don’t think about the Senate a whole lot doesn’t mean that the status quo should be acceptable.

More than 100 Canadians are paid handsomely each and every year to sit in Canada’s upper chamber and contribute to parliamentary debates, at times amend legislation, and even represent Canada on the world stage.

Despite that responsibility, they aren’t elected; they’re appointed through a process that is not transparent to the public, and representation in the Senate by province is incredibly unequal.

It’s time for all of that to change.

The Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy recently had Léger conduct a poll as to whether Canadians wanted to see changes in the Senate. Sixty-two per cent of Canadians wanted to see the Senate reformed or abolished. Twenty-three per cent said they didn’t know. And just 15 per cent of those surveyed said the status quo should be maintained.

Take out the undecided, and a whopping 84 per cent of Canadians want to see some kind of change to the Senate.

That constitutes a clear mandate for change and reflects concerns about how senators are chosen and how representation is distributed.

The process that we have right now, where a committee provides recommendations to the prime minister on who to appoint to an unelected seat until the age of 75, just doesn’t cut it.

Nor does the fact that representation in the Senate is so unequal. Consider this: British Columbia has one senator for every 953,000 people. Prince Edward Island, on the other hand, has one senator for every 44,000.

Does that seem fair?

There’s a case to be made for Senate reform rather than abolition. Working properly and with legitimacy, it could offer Canadians a real opportunity for sober second thought in our government.

But if the Senate isn’t reformed, it ought to be abolished. Having an unelected, unequal, and unaccountable upper chamber simply doesn’t make sense in the 21st century. Canadians deserve to be represented by people whom they elect.

The naysayers will say that it can’t be done. Yes, real reform to the Senate would take a constitutional amendment, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a process worth trying.

The time for Senate reform has come. Prime Minister Mark Carney, who is currently riding high in the polls, could propose real change. By reforming the Senate, or abolishing it entirely, Carney could instantly secure for himself a legacy that would transcend generations.

Under Canada’s constitutional amending formula, major changes to the Senate require provincial approval.

Changing the number of senators per province and allowing for direct elections would require the support of seven of Canada’s 10 provinces with 50 per cent of the population or more.

Abolition would require the support of every province.

Former prime minister Brian Mulroney tried and failed to change the Constitution through the Meech Lake Accord, primarily because he was trying to cajole each provincial legislature to pass an amendment. He then failed to get the Charlottetown Accord adopted through a national referendum in large part because his government was historically unpopular.

But should Carney choose to take his case to the people through a referendum, he would be doing so at a time of strong popularity. Carney himself is currently quite popular, as is the idea of Senate reform itself.

And if Carney were to put the question to Canadians via a referendum, he could bypass the need to get every premier on board. He would simply have to make his case to the Canadian people.

Carney now has the opportunity to act.

Jay Goldberg is a fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.