Spare a thought for Senate reform

Published in the Calgary Herald, August 18, the Brandon Sun, August 21, the Red Deer Advocate, August 27, and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal, August 29, and the Windsor Star, September 9, 2008.

By Dr. Roger Gibbins
President and CEO
Canada West Foundation

Dr. Roger Gibbins The political world generally sleeps in these dog days of summer, sprawled out in the sun like a dog on a hot sidewalk. For most of us, conversations seldom reach beyond casual comments tossed around on the deck as steaks are cooked and beers are tipped. It is a time to focus on the personal, on the Olympic Games, on the here and now as autumn creeps up.

However, this summer is also a time for political speculation about the possibility of a federal election this fall. The party war drums are beating, taunts are being exchanged and it is beginning to look like the Conservative government might be defeated or die at its own hands after Parliament resumes on Sept. 15.

If we are indeed plunged into a fall election, what issues are likely to dominate the campaign? For a while, there was no doubt environmental policy would dominate as the Conservatives and Liberals staked out different carbon strategies. We could expect to hear a great deal about greenhouse gas emissions, carbon taxes and tax shifting, global warming and the regional effects of policy proposals.

However, this environmental emphasis is likely to fade as voters confront an increasingly troubled economy, and a less green campaign agenda could open the door for a sleeper issue. When the word "sleeper" is used, the Senate springs to mind.

Other issues, including climate change policy and the health of the global economy, will largely be determined outside the country. Canadians and the rest of the world will be waiting to see how the new U.S. president comes to grips with the pressing challenges of recession, high fuel costs and global warming. All of these are basically spectator sports for Canadians, for they are beyond our influence, while Senate reform is a uniquely Canadian issue.

But why will Senate reform enter the campaign? It won't be because voters or provincial governments are clamouring for reform, for they are not. There is no groundswell of public interest, only passive support. Instead, Senate reform will enter the campaign because we are heading for a serious institutional crisis.

Stephen Harper is the first prime minister to explicitly tackle Senate reform by introducing legislation to limit senatorial terms and provide elections for Senate appointments. These initiatives, however, are at a standstill in the House and Senate and, in the meantime, the prime minister has refused to make new appointments, other than Bert Brown's.

Attrition is whittling down the number of senators to the point where the Senate's functionality will soon be brought into question. There will be legal and political challenges to fill Senate vacancies and, as legislative conflicts between the House and Senate increase, the wheels of government will turn even more slowly.

We are getting into an institutional mess. We realize the Senate is increasingly at odds with a democratic society, but alternative visions are slow to emerge. The Conservative government has taken some provocative first steps, but neither the ultimate destination nor a roadmap for getting there have been articulated. What should we ask from candidates in a fall campaign?

It would be far too much to expect the campaign will resolve Senate reform, but with luck, it will help set the stage for a healthy and constructive national debate once the election is over. The country needs a commitment from political leaders to proceed with institutional reform, to map out a destination, and to sketch in a process to get there. It is far too premature to fight a campaign around different reform models, but it is not too soon for our leaders to recognize an institutional problem and to commit themselves to its resolution.

We have to throw more creative talent at the tough institutional design problems, including innovative methods of election/selection and the distribution of seats to meet a new demography. Such talent might be brought together in a royal commission or even a constituent assembly. Canadians also need a plan and a commitment to make the Senate work while we map out more fundamental reform. We need a way to fill vacancies that does not choke off the prospects for reform. We need a Senate that contributes to the civility of parliamentary behaviour at a time when this civility is strained by minority governments.

So, as you prepare yourself for the fall and the campaign to come, spare a thought for Senate reform. This dog can no longer be left to sleep in the sun.

Keywords: Roger Gibbins, senate reform, election, constitutional crisis, national debate

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