Since the earliest days of Preston Manning's Reform Party a prime goal has been to obtain an elected senate. The original plan was a "Triple E" body - Equal, Elected and Effective - an obvious non-starter for the more populous provinces such as Quebec and Ontario.
But if there's one thing the Harper goverment likes to do, it's tinker. So now the Big H wants to go ahead with a bill to allow provincial voters to elect their preferences for appointment to the Senate.
The whole Senate reform business has been thrashed around to the point that it's threadbare. At the moment it occupies a useful, advisory role, well aware of the fact that it's members aren't elected and, therefore, should generally defer to the Commons.
Electing senators will give them a lot more clout to stand up to or meddle in the business of government. The case can be made just as well to simply abolish the senate altogether. Maybe the time has come.
No comments:
Post a Comment