A look at the real Senate scandal
The real scandal of the Senate is that we, the voters, have forgotten its history and purpose.
In the 1860s, the Fathers of Confederation wanted Canada to have a government similar to that of the UK. They were seeking “peace, order and good government.” The only alternative considered was a democratic republic as in France and the United States. However Canadians perceived “mob rule” in the U.S., slaughter by guillotine in France, and civil wars in each. The UK system offered a way to tame the excesses of a simple democracy, by means of a Senate.
There is frequent criticism of the non-elected status of Senators and their long term in office, questioning the legitimacy of the Senate. This reveals a lack of understanding of the purpose of the Senate. The long-term appointment status of each senator enables them to take the independent stands needed for resisting any excesses of the House. The appointed basis insulates them from emotions of a public mob.
The legitimacy of the Senate originates in the written Constitution. The proposition that an elected institution is the only legitimate type is not the basis of the UK system, although it is of the American. Proposals to abolish the Senate would destroy the logic of the UK system, as well as undermine the basis of the Canadian colonies’ original agreement to federate. Furthermore, electing senators would put the Senate in equal opposition to the House of Commons, leading to the type of stalemates experienced in the U.S.
Patronage appointments of Senators by the PM have ensured that at times the Senate agrees with the House no matter what is proposed. The PM declares that the Senate is useless. He made it so. Not knowing our history we, the voters, are persuaded that it is indeed useless.
The Duffy trial indicates that the PM and the PMO officials believed they had every right to instruct Senators on any aspect of their work. They still believe it; no one has spoken against it. Constitutionally those officials had no such right. We the voters should remind the PM of this. Pat Slinn, Nepean