Stronger Team For Senate Reform

Not only the Conservatives now have a plurality in the Red Chamber, but they also have one of the strongest Senate reform supporter on the team. So, as long as the government survives the Throne Speech and the budget vote, we can finally expect some steps forward.

The bill to limit Senate tenure will be reintroduced again - for the third or fourth time. Except that this time, it actually has a chance to go beyond the second reading debate in the Senate. Sure, the opposition parties may try to derail the bill, once it goes to the House of Commons. Obviously we'll face fierce resistance from the Bloc and the NDP, who believe that the Upper Chamber should be abolished.

At the same time, it is likely for at least some of the Liberal MPs to support the bill. Especially, after Ignatieff expressed his support for 12-year term limits - which doesn't seem to go against "a term of between eight and 13 years", proposed by Harper. So, if the Parliament survives until 2011, we can expect fixed Senate terms to become mandatory, at least for those Senators that were appointed after 2006.

But, hopefully, the Senate reform doesn't stop there. Yes, the opposition, as well as several provinces are strongly opposed to directly elected Senate. But we have the province of Alberta, that keeps holding Senate Nominee elections without waiting for the "go ahead" from the feds. Their next Senate Nominee election is likely to take place this fall.

And they're soon to be joined by Saskatchewan, that has already passed its Senate Nominee Election bill, so it's just a matter of time until Saskatchewan has its very first Senate Nominee vote. (Which is likely to take place in 2012, when Senator Robert W. Peterson is scheduled to retire.) If a couple more provinces follow suit - we can succeed in making Senate elections stick from coast to coast.

Another way to overcome the opposition to directly elected Senate is by holding a referendum. Let the voters choose what kind of Senators they like - the ones they elect themselves or the ones appointed by "an arms-length committee tasked with vetting candidates", as proposed by Ignatieff? Let's see how many voters (not politicians) agree with Ignatieff's vision of yet another Star Chamber that would decide on who is entitled to represent us in the Senate.

A referendum could also be used to let the voters decide whether they want to keep the existing seat allocation in the Senate, whether they want each province to have equal number of seats or whether some other arrangement should be sought. And the government can go ahead and throw in the question on whether or not the Senate should be abolished, to get the NDP and the Bloc on their side.

Can we look forward for such a plebiscite to take place? Most likely, the government will have no resort to it sooner or later. If the politicians fail to reach an agreement on Senate reform, the government will have no choice but to take the Senate reform issue directly to the voters.