A focus on parliamentary reform.

• Author: Stos, Will
• Position: Letter from the Editor - Editorial

In May 2015, the Canadian Study of Parliament Group (CSPG) held a one day conference exploring parliamentary reform of procedure and practice. Noting that reform "enables an ancient institution to adapt to a changing environment, including relatively new democratic values and expectations," the conference surveyed aspects of Canada's parliamentary evolution and "where it needs to go in order to maximize its contribution to Canadian political life."

The event brought together scholars, parliamentary officials and other interested observers to hear four excellent panel presentations and to discuss and debate how Canada's Parliament might continue to adapt to meet the needs of Canadians.

Using that conference as our inspiration, we're pleased to present a theme issue that continues this discussion.

Some of the CSPG panelists from the conference joined us for a roundtable on parliamentary reform. Not only did this discussion touch upon topics and presentations from the conference, but it also addressed some of the reform agenda emerging out of the last federal election. Participants alternated between optimism and pessimism when contemplating the likelihood of significant change occurring. Conference presenter Louis Massicotte also presents a quantitative review of changes in the Senate since the 1980s in this issue. He finds some notable changes in the diversity of representatives while observing a more mixed record on the Senate's effect on the legislative business in Parliament.

Still on the topic of the Senate, former Clerk of the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly Ronald Stevenson offers some suggestions for incremental...