It's time to abolish the Senate.
Actually, the Senate should have been kicked to the curb 40 years ago but Pierre Trudeau, like every prime minister before and after him, just didn't have the nerve.
It's history. It's Canada's tie to the British parliamentary system. It's the "sober second thought" needed to debate and ponder laws passed by our elected members of Parliament.
Tradition is hardly a good reason to keep such a decrepit institution in existence. It provides zero return on the taxpayer investment. It can't even get the "sober second thought" part right.
The senators are appointed by the prime minister and their allegiance is to him and his party. While they can debate current affairs and laws passed by the House, even making suggestions to improve or change government legislation, Parliament is under no obligation to listen to a single word said in the red chamber.
If the Senate had real power to stop Parliament decisions or initiate its own bills, if it was made up of elected representatives or senators chosen by the provinces, if the Senate made meaningful contributions to Canadian democracy, if the Senate wasn't such a waste of time and money, year after year, then maybe, just maybe it might be worth it.
But why?
There are no senates at the municipal, regional and provincial government level. When those elected bodies pass motions into law, democracy has spoken, whatever we as citizens may think of the outcome. Federally, however, a small group of unelected individuals has been mandated with the authority to question the will of elected Parliamentary representatives.
It makes no sense to have such a redundant governing body whose existence is enshrined by the Constitution.
The Senate had zero role to play in every major federal decision made over the last 30 years, from the Constitution, to free trade, to bilingualism, to multiculturalism, to the GST.
When a senator makes news, the word is usually attached to the word "scandal." When the Senate makes news, it's because senators are doing the ridiculous job of investigating themselves for impropriety.
This isn't about Mike Duffy or Mac Harb or Pamela Wallin or Patrick Brazeau. This is about eliminating an institution that accomplishes nothing for the Canadians who pay for it. Sorry, not quite nothing. Noel Kinsella, the Speaker of the Senate, pointed out in his 2012 report on the Senate's activities that the upper chamber did install a new glass-stained window linking the Senate to the Centre Block.
Honest.
The first two thirds of Kinsella's six-paragraph report for last year is devoted to a history lesson about the Senate and Parliamentary traditions. The last two paragraphs are about the cool window, to mark Queen Elizabeth's diamond anniversary on the throne.
No word on whether the senators passed a hat to have the window done or whether they just passed on the bill to taxpayers.
After a great career as a Stanley Cup-winning hockey coach and a passionate advocate for literacy, Jacques Demers was appointed to the red chamber by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Trust a man who devoted his life to hard work and fair play to be openly questioning his Senate future.
"I really, really trust Mr. Harper," he said to the Canadian Press on Wednesday. "I'm in a reflection period. It means I'm going to see what's going to happen. I want to see if I'm going to stay in the Senate."
He's not talking about quitting because he's done anything wrong. He's thinking of quitting because the scandal and the waste are driving him nuts.
As a coach, Demers knew all too well that players aren't kept on the team for the sake of tradition and history. Players need to produce if they want a seat on the bench.
Canada's Senate is long overdue being cut from the government team.
