The Senate of Canada has become the boil on Canada’s bum. It has become an object of scorn and derision for Canadians. It can no longer serve its original purpose and it is an anachronism that is a disgrace to democracy, our parliament and our country. If getting rid of the Senate was really Stephen Harper’s original objective, he has done it.
But someone else has to clean house. It can be an electoral booby-trap for Justin Trudeau. It is going to take some very careful manoeuvring to set the stage for something to be done about the Senate. It cannot be done without approval by the provinces—and if not by the provincial legislators, at least by the people of the provinces. That means that the best solution is by referendum.
Before you start to word that referendum, it might be a good idea to take a look at other problems with our outdated but repatriated British North America Act. What may have seemed like good ideas 150 years ago might be somewhat out of date today. For example, why should country colonized and built by peoples from the entire world have a head of state in London, England? And if we get rid of an appointed Senate, what can we do to the Governor General?
And while we are at it, the growing unfettered power of an imperial Prime Minister’s Office needs to have a few checks and balances. It might also be a good idea for some sort of advise and consent of parliament on appointments to our courts, crown corporations and myriad of boards and commissions that have so much power over us.
Justin, we are not talking about a small undertaking here. What might help would be an elected constitutional assembly. The easiest approach would be to elect three or four people per federal riding across Canada. These people are going to need a place to meet, transportation and accommodation over the one or two years the entire process might take. By setting some deadlines, we might be able to contain the costs.
But it is critically important we do it. Canada needs a constitution and controls and procedures that make sense in the 21st Century. Getting rid of an anachronistic and a misused Senate might be the beginning but the result can be a country of which we can all take a renewed pride. Our Canada is worth it.
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Copyright 2013 © Peter Lowry
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