WHEREAS democracy is in decay and Canada is being fundamentally changed by stealth;
WHEREAS Canada finished last in recent survey of five Parliamentary Democracies;
WHEREAS the significant inequity of the value of one vote from one region of Canada to another is of concern, and may be one reason for low voter turnout;
WHEREAS Canadians value an independent, appropriate, credible and respected Checks and Balances ‘Chamber of Sober Second Thought’;
WHEREAS the Harper government fills supposedly independent tribunals such as the Parole Board with partisans, and makes patronage appointments to the Senate with the criteria they must support Conservative legislation;
WHEREAS all government jurisdictions, federal, provincial and municipal, must work together to establish fair taxation, e.g., Municipalities should collect and share data on falls due to snow, ice and windrows in parking lots and on sidewalks, with ensuing hospital and caregiver costs;
WHEREAS under the Harper government Canada has lost its reputation as a just and trusted counselor and mediator resulting in the loss of Canada’s long-held membership on the UN Security Council;
WHEREAS Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International, describing the Canadian government of undermining democracy, is unprecedented;
BE IT RESOLVED that the Liberal Party establish a “Bring Back Democracy” Election Platform;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a Liberal Government would:
- Research and prepare an action plan, to enable knowledgeable Citizens to consider changes in the electoral system to ensure better and more effective representation in government;
- Strike a national independent broad-sector Commission to study in-depth the most democratic method to appoint members to the Senate;
- Establish a plan in cooperation with provinces to empower Municipalities;
- Promote international Democracy and Good Governance by leading by example.
Senior Liberals’ Commission
I’ve always thought it’d be fair to give Premiers a say in who becomes a Senator. Perhaps a 50/50 split with the PM appointing half and the Premiers the other half. Also we need term limits. 12 years maybe? I’d settle for 9 or 8 even.
Why not give all the senator nomination power to the provinces? That could provide a good place to say something in link with federal laws to the provinces. I think this could improve the federal-provincial collaboration greatly, because the federal government would have to take in account province’s ideas directly in the legislation processus. Provinces wouldn’ have to go to Supreme Court to make their points.
In my view the Senate is a reward system for political hacks and wacks and should be dumped with the saving of $130 million per year.
If the Senate is to be kept then appointees selected and chosen from a council of Canadians selected randomly from the Election roles. A web site could be set up and ordinary Canadians could nominate and vote on potential Senators. The council of Canadians would make the final selection form this list.
THE CURRENT SYSTEM OF HAVING THE PRIME MINISTER APPOINT SENATORS must be dropped.
Having said that I still believe the Senate should go the way of the dodo bird.
I firmly believe in the value of sober second thought, however I think a more democratic method of appointment could ensure that the worth of such second thought would be more appreciated. I do not, however, believe that another elected body would be anything more than another reason for the electorate to complain about too many elections at too much cost.
The Canaadian Senate is basically UNDEMOCRATIC because it is not based on Representation Proportioinate to Population. Furthermore, the existence of a Senate (derived from the British House of Lords) would still be anti-democratic in the same way that the USA Senate presently is. A Senate is an institution designed to second guess the actions of parliament and protect the interests of a Ruling Class. This is an unnecessary intrusion on the modern concept of a liberal democracy.
Any changes to the Senate should have broad public support. Three major changes should be made.
1) All Senators from the same province or territory should be elected to a single non-renewable term of 2 parliaments (effectively 10 years maximum);
2) A fixed formula needs to be approved by the public (in a referendum) establishing how seats should be distributed among provinces, territories, and indigenous Canadians;
3) An electoral system should be chosen by referendum to determine how Senators would be elected.
A preference ballot should be used in these referendums to ensure a national consensus on the key reforms. The above changes would ensure that Senators were independent of the House of Commons, shared equal legitimacy with their peers, and that the key elements of reform would have been approved by the public at large in advance of drafting a bill to be submitted to the legislatures.
I like your idea, Simon.
The challenge to make any changes to the Senate is one needs approval from the provinces. The other challenge is just like in the selection of parliament the Senate is going to be elected and not represent possibility of 60 % of the populace opinions. In order to have most of the voters opinions represented I think the Senate selection should be connected to the results of the federal election. Each province’s electoral results would determine which party the representative is chosen from. If the Liberal party has 30% in a province they would have 30% of the Senators for this province. This would allow an increase in representation from the Liberal party even thou the are no MP’s from this same province This would change the Senate from representing two parties to one that would have representatives from all major parties. This would then create the challenge on how this representatives are selected. This could be done just like the selection of the parliament. A difference would be the area that the Senator represents would have to be much larger than just on riding.
Currently 40% of the populace determines a majority government. The Senate can act as a counter balance to the parliament. If the senate’s selection is connected to the election results then more opinions will be represented. I am proposing that a party’s result in each province will determine the number of seats in the Senate they will be given. This would allow the Liberal party increased representation in provinces, which they might not get many MP’s elected. Such a proposal will need approval from the provinces, but it would solve the problem of people’s opinions not being represented at the federal government.
@Chris Kelly – I agree totally. The Australian Senate works pretty well this way in my opinion.
In terms of only 40% of Canadians supporting our current government, it’s actually worse than that. Only 24.3% of eligible voters voted for the Conservatives, and that’s only 16.8% of the total population of Canada.
The senate, as it stands, is a glorified pension program that cries for renovation or to be done away with. If it is to stay then it cannot be based on appointments. If the senate is not going to be a legitimate body then it should be scrapped. It must also fairly represent the population of Canada. That means P.E.I. is not entitled to the same number of senators as B.C. Or Alberta to Ontario. The senate must represent Canadians equally, not give a greater voice to the few over the many.