Senate reform hits a Wall
Saskatchewan premier targets upper chamber
Canada needs to abolish its Senate because effective reforms will never happen, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall said Tuesday.
Heading into a retreat that starts Wednesday with his provincial and territorial counterparts, hosted by Ontario, Wall told Postmedia News he hopes to build support for his position from other parts of the country.
“I’m not naive,” said Wall. “I understand that abolition is very difficult. I would argue that it’s slightly less difficult than reform.”
He noted that Saskatchewan has traditionally defended reforms to create an elected and effective Senate, with each province having equal representation.
Although he said recent efforts by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to introduce Senate reforms were “laudable,” he said they aren’t “taking off” in creating the required change.
“It’s never going to happen, so I think we can make the case now to other provinces… (that) we have the provincial capitals themselves, frankly, acting as a pretty good check and balance with greater and greater powers as the federation has decentralized a lot over the last 25 years and gradually since Confederation.”
Wall said the push to abolish the Senate could take the form of provincial legislation in a majority of provinces or possibly a national referendum. He added that he would discuss some details with his own caucus later this summer.
“We’re looking for support from premiers because the current system is obviously not working for Canadians,” Wall said. “We have this anachronistic, completely unaccountable body that — never mind the scandals — it just doesn’t seem to make much sense in a democracy in 2013.”
Other provinces have offered mixed reactions to Saskatchewan’s position, with some suggesting that they preferred to focus on reforming the upper chamber.