Constitutional Politics

Introduction to the Canadian Senate

Canada is unique in the world for its approach at melding the worlds of proportional representation that occurs in parliament with the regional and the appointed senate. Both houses have come under significant criticism within their histories for being insufficiently responsible to the electorate. However, it is undeniably the senate that has received most of the criticism. The senate has received renewed interest under the Harper government. This paper will attempt to analyze the nature of the reforms proposed by the Harper government and the methods used to enact these changes. Currently, there are 105 senators.

The current distribution of the senate based on a regional system. The Maritimes, Ontario, Quebec and Western Canada are all allocated 24 seats each. Appointments performed by the governor general, however, in practice the decision made by the prime minister, who has sole discretion on the choice of the appointee. The prime minister also has full discretion to fill empty seats whenever he pleases, and on rare occasion to overfill by eight extra seats. For example in 1990, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney appointed eight Progressive Conservative Senators in order to give his party the slight majority needed to successfully pass the Goods and Services Tax. Candidates for the Senate position must meet certain requirements in order to be selected, and it is the ability of the senate members themselves to judge the validity of their qualifications. Members must be at least 30 years of age, but less than 75, the mandatory retirement age. Furthermore, the candidates must be residents of the province they are elected to represent, and own equity in property of at least $4000 there. Additionally, they must have a net worth of at least $4000, “Sections 23(3) and 23(4) of the Constitution Act, 1867 stipulate that senators must own property valued at $4,000, over and above debts and liabilities” (Barnes 45). These property requirements may seem trivial, but at the time of the confederacy, the amount would have been substantial, and the rule was enacted for two reasons. Firstly, property and investment was viewed as a sign of maturity and sound character in much the same vein as the age requirement. Secondly, being landed in their region of representation meant that the senators would have a stake in the welfare or their constituency. This made the senate analogous to the upper house of the United Kingdom, the house of lords, “it functioned as the equivalent of the British House of Lords in a new country without an established aristocracy” (Stillborn 1).

Two officers coordinate the proceedings of the senate. The speaker of the senate is responsible for ensuring that rules governing the proceedings are followed; settling disputes between senators and calling on members to speak. The speaker is assisted by a speaker pro tempore' who is elected by the senate itself to fill in for the speaker when they are not present. A team of clerks of various duties assist the speaker, as well. Speakers are appointed by the ...