The Liberals are trying to maintain their hold on the senate and it is their way of staying in power by stealth even when the people have voted them out. If the senate is there to represent a political party rather than the people, we don’t need them.

It seems the Senate doesn’t seem to move too fast when the legislation has anything to do with being held accountable. (accountability act stalling prior to the liberal leadership convention, senate reform). It brings me back to the days of Lord Gray and Syndenham prior to Confederation where it was a big deal to even think about “responsible government”. The liberals have more in common with those guys then Canadians now a days. God forbid we were to have a body of government that actually represented the views of the Canadian population?.?.? Stephane Dion is more concerned with keeping the liberal noose around the government his party once used to dominate, then doing what is best for the name of liberty and democracy. He can attempt to grasp and cling on to what is left of a liberal entitlement position in government which used to be the Senate… but Canadians have had enough of it and will no longer stand for it as there is a government that actually represents the views of Canadian voters in power now. The liberals are going to have to find some other organization in which they can give their former dignitaries figurehead positions and lifetime acheivement awards b/c the Canadian taxpayer is not going to be paying for that anymore.

Signed,

The Youth Conservative Movement & friends of Monte Solberg

Every one in Canada knows that Senate reform is an absolute must for this country. Why are the Liberals standing in the way of a start? It becomes ever more obvious that Canaduians must strive harder to keep the Liberal snout out of the trough. G Bright

Stephen Harper, is the Leader of a New Government of Canada, the first in Canadian history who would emasculate the Government of Canada through empowering the provincial government including their representing their jurisdictions/competencies internationally (the Quebec nation would be at present had UNESCO rules prevented it).

Options for the Canadian Senate as presently constituted are:

(a) to have it remain as it is researching through committees, offering positive amendments at times, at other times holding up legislation - sometimes because there is no national consensus, sometimes due to partisan considerations;

(b) abolish it as on balance performing a more obstructive than productive role;

(c) reshaping it such that the Senators, being members an elected body, will have claim to an equal mandate from the electorate. Indeed perhaps more so in that they will be elected by a larger constituency than individual Members of the House of Commons.

Should option (b) be taken the down side is there would be no let or stay on a majority government in the House of Commons.

Should (c) be the direction taken questions arise:

(i) will the Senators be seen as representing the interests of the province from which they are elected or the whole of Canada? Wiillthey be sitting as Ontarians or as Canadians from Ontario?

(ii) would the Senate have the powers to initiate any type of legislation and veto any Bill?;

(iii) should an impasse between the Senate and the Commons arise would there be a means of ending it?

Other questions may come to my mind or to those of others. Unanswered these are of such consequence my preference is (a) with representation adjusted to reflect changed and changing realities.

It is hardly surprising that the Liberal Party which has appointed the majority of senators opposes any senate reform. It is a way of controlling the country without actually winning a majority of seats. The same is true of the majority of judges on the Supreme Court of Canada and all of the provincial Supreme Courts which have been personally appointments by the PM. PM Harper was the first prime minister in Canadian history to actually have an all party committee to interview a supreme court nominee.

The latest tactic to go to the Supreme Court attempts to legitimize the maintenance of Liberal vested interests. This is afterall the party which considers itself to be “the natural ruling party of Canada”.

In Canada, I have read comments on blogs calling Albertans “scary” and “nazis”. Our democracy has been very damaged by the Liberal Party which has played one region of the country against another in their quest for electoral success. I have even spoken to people who actually believe that Ontario and Quebec should run the country. A democracy should include all of its citizens or it isn’t really a democracy. It should be tolerant or it isn’t really much different from Venezuela or China.

We have a great deal of work to try to repair the damage done by decades of profiligate, unaudited regional spending and patronage appointments to crown corporations, the senate and judiciary. It looks like it will be an uphill battle because most Canadians do not really comprehend the extent of these problems. Having four levels of government means that most citizens do not comprehend the functions of different levels of government.

Without working with the other parties, a minority government does not have a hope of passing senate reform. Since the Bloc is well served by the Liberal favoritism of Quebec, it means that the NDP must be persuaded that representative government is a non-starter and that our democracy needs an update away from the model of Britain which was based upon preserving the rights of the aristocracy against “rule by the mob”. Unfortunately, the leader of the NDP likes getting his way as we saw with his dealings with PM Martin.

It is difficult to imagine how one can accomplish this goal without either NDP support, a majority (which is unlikely due to the # of seats taken by the Bloc), or a public outcry from a public that is sick of constitutional reform.

The days of partisan appointments should have ended as vaguely promised, on February 6, 2006. Why didn’ they?

I heartily endorse senate reform and Harper must stick to his program!

Senate reform is overdue and the Liberal Senators need to be instructed by the Liberal leader to pass the recommendations in committee. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon or the Supreme Court to have enough brains to adjust the length of term of Senators. The Lower House puts the legislation forward and changing to 8-year terms is within their mandate. The Upper House should abide by the wishes of the elected MPs. If Harper can get the support of the NDP and/or Bloc they have the mandate to make the change. If they don’t then it dies in the House of Commons and not the Senate. Election of Senators would require a consitutional amendment but not term of appointments. Let’s get on with reforming the retirement home for party patronage and let’s work on electing a Senate that will have the consitutional mandate to hold up legislation from the Lower House as a chmaber of sober second thought.

So the time has come to abolish the senate, along with the senators - hell - why not the house of commons too - it accomplishes little more than country wide embarrassment, draconian taxes and a bias against western Canada… no?

There is no reason for the senate since trudeau screwed up our country and now is the time to abolish it!!!

Chances of Senate reform are approximately nil unless proposal includes huge bribes to current senators. Suggest that such a bill be prepared and presented, and then when passed by both Houses, NCC and similar groups try to shame retired senators to allocate some of their loot to good causes. If this were to be denied, it just might provoke the citizenry to rise in wrath
The current impasse on B.C. MLA’s stipends might offer some similar ideas. If no other way presents itself, maybe all Senate seats should be left empty by default when age or death removes the current figurehead.

We like the idea of getting ride of the senate a lot better than reform of it.Why do we need it as we are now the most over governed country in the world?

The Senators should be voated on or just abolished. Dot

We do not need a senate. We do not need an arogant liberal government, anybody with half a brain wuld not vote for these guys ever again. What we do need is a smart, inovative, fair, conservative government for all times.

Change to an elected Senate with 8 year term for all members, or abolish it!

PJM

The Senate, or more correctly shud be named the Elephants Grave Yard, shud have a restricted term to it. Eight years seems long enough to allow members to make all the connections they need to lead a full and happy life after leaving same. Also, their pension shud be restricted to the same as any civil servant wud get having worked for only 8 years. It shud also be elected, 2 seats per province, so that it no longer becomes the gold plated retirement home for defeated MPs, MLAs etc.

It is indeed high time for an elected senate. If only Prime Minister Harper would be allowed to do this. It looks like he’ll need a majority government to accomplish this.

This stall by the LIberals to stop Senate Reform exposes their ‘pattern’ of developing their socialist ‘government’ control mandate. To control the government, the ’selecting’ rather the ‘electing’ of senators is required to be maintain - AND, as shown with their continuous attack on the Conservative gov’t on Kyoto and ‘the blame game’ of Harper not doing enough, it shows that the LIberals continue to be masters of deceipt as well for it was the LIberals who made the deal of Kyoto, the LIberals who had 10 years to get it established and it was the LIberals who did ‘nothing.’ So, again, here is a reform situation and the LIberals again chose to do ‘nothing’ for it suites their manadate - that is why Canada, as a world leader, is far behind - really sad most Canadians don’t get it yet.

The senate is nothing but a home for the aged, come and go as they wish while reaping big salaries and quirks at the tax payers’ expense. There . should be no appointments all senators should be elected to a term of 4 to 6 years and no more. The attendance of some leave much to be desired, .Those with atrocious attendance records should be thrown out along with a reduction in their pensions

I am pleased to see a government in power, though minority, that has the will to fix wrongs with the senate and other things. Keep up the good work.

THREE TGINGS WRONG WITH CANADA.
QUEBEC, THE SENATE AND THE CBC.
THESE ISSUES HAVE TO BE DEALT WITH ASAP.

Once again, Stephen Harper is right on the money concerning Senate reform. If only he could address the issue of Supreme Court corruption in Canada he would be the perfect Prime minister.

The senate is a waste of time and money and we should just abloish it.