Senate

• Author: Steven Chaplin
• Pages: 107-118

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Senate

Background and Overview

Like many countries, Canada has a national Parliament that is

bicameral. It has two legislative and debating chambers, the House

of Commons and the Senate. e House of Commons is elected

and is the assembly of which the government must retain the con-

f‌idence, and in which the prime minister and the vast majority of

minsters sit. On the other hand, senators are appointed on the rec-

ommendation of the prime minister and sit until the age of . As

a result, many dismiss the Senate as not necessary because it is not

democratic and not subject to the same level of public scrutiny and

accountability. ere are frequent calls to either change the Senate

so that it is elected or to abolish it. Despite a  Supreme Court

of Canada decision that indicates that such changes would require

dicult constitutional amendments, calls for reform continue.

Even when the desire for constitutional reform is muted, there is a

sense in the public that the Senate is anachronistic and irrelevant.

What is clear from this is that the Senate and its role are misunder-

stood and undervalued.

e Senate makes various important contributions to Parliament,

and Canada is better for it. Its function is often referred to as a