by Étienne-Alexandre Beauregard
A few weeks ago, while I was in Ottawa as part of the Forum for Young Canadians program, I visited the Senate of Canada, a non-elected chamber whose mandate is to go across laws voted in Parliament and modify articles according to what they think is best. While the guides there tried their best to justify the existence of such an instance in Canada today, the very concept of the Senate is profoundly antidemocratic and encourages cronyism.
First, the role of the Senate is to have non-elected officials selected by the prime minister overrule bills voted by elected members of Parliament for various reasons. In a democratic country like Canada, how preposterous is it that chosen people get the last words on what democratically elected officials decide together? The Senate even has the nerve to describe itself as a “sober second thought” after bills go through Parliament. If we follow that metaphor all the way through, what does that make the House of Commons? Is it the “first drunk thought”? The very institution that is the Senate snobs democracy by thinking of itself as a superior instance of universal good, the only one who can properly decide what’s good for Canadians. How ironic that this chamber hasn’t been chosen by the people whilst the MPs have actually been elected by popular vote…
Second, the fact that the prime minister is the only one to decide who will become a senator obviously open the door for serious abuse and cronyism. Why would the PM choose to make someone who disagrees with him a senator if he knows that person is just going to make his job harder when he tries to adopt bills? The answer’s quite simple, he wouldn’t. Senators are more often than not friends of the regime who are granted an honorary pension to do work that wasn’t even necessary in the first place since MPs are there to vote laws. There are better uses of taxpayer money than to fill the pockets of the PM’s buddies.
As a non-elected chamber that has a higher power than the House of Commons, the Senate is fundamentally antidemocratic. Add to that terrible fact that it’s just a way for politicians to thank their old friends with a good salary paid by the canadian citizens and you’ve got a few of the reasons why this chamber has no reason to exist in a democratic country. We can hope that the canadian authorities will have the common sense to abolish it one day.
A few weeks ago, while I was in Ottawa as part of the Forum for Young Canadians program, I visited the Senate of Canada, a non-elected chamber whose mandate is to go across laws voted in Parliament and modify articles according to what they think is best. While the guides there tried their best to justify the existence of such an instance in Canada today, the very concept of the Senate is profoundly antidemocratic and encourages cronyism.
First, the role of the Senate is to have non-elected officials selected by the prime minister overrule bills voted by elected members of Parliament for various reasons. In a democratic country like Canada, how preposterous is it that chosen people get the last words on what democratically elected officials decide together? The Senate even has the nerve to describe itself as a “sober second thought” after bills go through Parliament. If we follow that metaphor all the way through, what does that make the House of Commons? Is it the “first drunk thought”? The very institution that is the Senate snobs democracy by thinking of itself as a superior instance of universal good, the only one who can properly decide what’s good for Canadians. How ironic that this chamber hasn’t been chosen by the people whilst the MPs have actually been elected by popular vote…
Second, the fact that the prime minister is the only one to decide who will become a senator obviously open the door for serious abuse and cronyism. Why would the PM choose to make someone who disagrees with him a senator if he knows that person is just going to make his job harder when he tries to adopt bills? The answer’s quite simple, he wouldn’t. Senators are more often than not friends of the regime who are granted an honorary pension to do work that wasn’t even necessary in the first place since MPs are there to vote laws. There are better uses of taxpayer money than to fill the pockets of the PM’s buddies.
As a non-elected chamber that has a higher power than the House of Commons, the Senate is fundamentally antidemocratic. Add to that terrible fact that it’s just a way for politicians to thank their old friends with a good salary paid by the canadian citizens and you’ve got a few of the reasons why this chamber has no reason to exist in a democratic country. We can hope that the canadian authorities will have the common sense to abolish it one day.
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