Bloggers note: I think the Senate is indispensable we Must save it and reform it.
458
And other Post links: SENATE REFORM >> Blog Archive
http://thehighchamber.blogspot.ca/2015/09/blog-archive.html
Senators to meet in private to talk red chamber reform
'Everything is on the table' in three days of post-election meetings in Ottawa
By Alison Crawford, CBC News
Posted: Sep 29, 2015 3:00 PM ET
Last Updated: Sep 29, 2015 3:00 PM ET
Regardless of which party wins the election, there will be no status quo for the Senate after Oct. 19.
To tackle the prospect of change head-on, Conservative Senator
Stephen Greene and Liberal-appointed Senator Paul Massicotte have
invited their peers to Ottawa for a post-election meeting on how they
can reform the upper chamber from within.
"Everything is on the table," Massicotte said of the meeting, which will be held from Oct. 26 to 28.
"The Senate, obviously, is constitutionally created. But the way we
operate and the rules we set, and the process we follow, is totally
within the responsibility and the authority of the Senate.
"There's no limits relative to what we can change," says Massicotte.
In June, Greene and Massicotte sent out a questionnaire asking their colleagues for feedback on ideas for reform.
"There's no limits relative to what we can change."
- Liberal-appointed Senator Paul Massicotte
Massicotte says the point was to get an idea of where there might be consensus.
"Can we modernize the Senate, can we make it more relevant, can we
make it more useful, can we gain better credibility with the public so
they understand a bit better what we're doing?"
The two senators are summarizing their findings and will moderate
discussions at the end of next month. Massicotte says they are keeping
all responses confidential.
Senators push for greater independence
Even so, CBC News has learned there is a great deal of interest among
senators in electing their own Speaker, abolishing Senate question
period and significantly reducing the number of senators sitting on each
Senate committee.
With 22 vacancies in the 105-seat upper house, senators have said
they're spread too thin over too many committees where there is no real
need for so many members.
Senate question period may not make much sense in the event of a
Liberal or NDP government, when there would presumably be no leader of
the government in the Senate.
The Conservatives recently ended the practice of having that person
in cabinet, making it more difficult to answer questions on behalf of
the government.
A Conservative election loss would also force senators to seriously
consider electing their own Speaker. They have long bristled at the
prime minister appointing a Speaker for the upper house while MPs elect a
Speaker in the House of Commons.
Liberal-appointed Senator Larry Campbell says he is keen to address the role of the Speaker, especially after the Conservatives overruled Speaker Leo Housakos in June to force a vote on a controversial private member's anti-union bill.
Senate rules allow the government to limit debate only on government business.
"I mean, he made a decision in the Senate and the Conservatives
disagreed and just continued on with it," Campbell said in reference to
the union reform bill.
"This is in regard to a private member's bills. This to me is
unprecedented. There should be an appeal, obviously, but how that looks
certainly should not just be the government standing up and saying we
don't agree and we're going on with it."
Liberal-appointed Senator Jim Munson says there are a lot of good
proposals in the questionnaire. And while he won't speak to the
specifics, Munson says the red chamber should be less partisan.
"Let's exercise our independence even more and be totally separate from the House of Commons," Munson said.
Change coming whether senators like it or not
Massicotte says taking on this project hasn't been easy, especially
when there are no bosses per se in the Senate and each person is free to
express their feelings.
"Human nature is such that people are always scared with change and
they're always hesitant and so this is a process that is complicated for
many."
Ready or not, change is certain come to the Senate, and soon.
The Conservatives say they will appoint no more senators until the body is reformed or until a Tory government has trouble passing its legislation.
The NDP wants to formalize abolition by amending the Constitution, and the Liberals promise to make the Senate less partisan by setting up an independent process for appointing senators.
