Parliament

The Senate

The Senate (French: Sénat) is a component of the Parliament of Canada, which also includes the Sovereign, represented by the Governor General and the House of Commons. The Senate is an unelected body, consisting of 105 members appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister. Senate seats are divided among the provinces in such a way that Ontario, Quebec, the Maritime Provinces, and the Western provinces are equally represented. The number of seats for Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut are assigned apart from these regional divisions. Senators serve until they reach the age of seventy-five.

Popularly known as the "Upper House", the Senate is far less powerful than the House of Commons (the "Lower House"). Although the approval of both Houses is necessary for legislation, the Senate very rarely rejects bills passed by the democratically elected Commons. Moreover, the Government of Canada is responsible solely to the House of Commons; the Prime Minister stays in office only as long as he or she retains the support of the Lower House. The Senate, however, does not exercise any such power.

The Senate meets at Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario.

History

The Senate came into existence in 1867, when the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the British North America Act, uniting the Province of Canada (which was separated into Canada East and Canada West, corresponding, respectively, to modern Quebec and Ontario), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into a single federation, called the Dominion of Canada. The Canadian Parliament was based on the Westminster model (that is, the model of the Parliament of the United Kingdom). The Senate was intended to mirror the British House of Lords, in that it was meant to represent the social and economic élite. Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, described it as a body of "sober second thought" that would curb the "democratic excesses" of the elected House of Commons. The Senate was also originally intended to provide regional representation.

The body, however, quickly turned into a source for political patronage in the eyes of many Canadians. It soon became a body that merely "rubber-stamped" legislation passed by the House of Commons; very rarely did the Senate seek to challenge the will of the House of Commons. Plans for reform, however, chiefly involved amending the appointment process; plans to create an elected Senate did not gain widespread support until the 1980s, when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau enacted the National Energy Program in the wake of the energy crises of the 1970s. Despite widespread opposition in Western Canada, Trudeau easily secured the Senate's support, as most senators had been appointed by previous Prime Ministers from Trudeau's Liberal Party. Many Western Canadians then called for a "Triple-E Senate," standing for "elected," "equal," and "effective." They believed that allowing equal representation of the provinces would protect the interests of the smaller provinces, and would end the domination of Ontario and Quebec.

The Meech Lake Accord, a series of constitutional amendments proposed by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, would have required the federal government to choose a senator from a list of persons nominated by the provincial government; the accord, however, failed to obtain the requisite unanimous consent of the provincial legislatures. A successor proposal, the Charlottetown Accord, involved a provision under which the Senate would include an equal number of senators from each province, elected either by the provincial legislatures or by the people. This accord was soundly defeated in the referendum held in 1992. Further proposals for Senate reform have not met with success, either, especially due to opposition in Ontario and Quebec, the two provinces with the most to lose due to equal representation.

Today, the New Democratic Party and the Bloc Québécois both call for the Senate's abolition. The Liberal Party generally calls for the status quo. While the Conservative Party has moved back from its predecessor Reform Party's strong advocacy of Triple-E, the current Conservative government has initiated modest attempts at Senate reform by advocating term limits on Senators and encouraging the provinces to hold Senate elections.

The Governor General holds the nominal power to appoint senators, though he or she makes appointments only on the advice of the Prime Minister. Prime Ministers normally choose members of their own parties to be senators, though they sometimes nominate independents or members of opposing parties. The Senate normally includes ex-Cabinet ministers, ex-provincial premiers, and other eminent former statesmen.

Under the constitution, each province or territory is entitled to a specific number of seats. A senator must reside in the province or territory for which he or she is appointed. The constitution divides Canada into four "divisions," each with an equal number of senators: twenty-four for Ontario; twenty-four for Quebec; twenty-four for the Maritime provinces (ten for Nova Scotia, ten for New Brunswick, and four for Prince Edward Island); and twenty-four for the Western provinces (six each for Manitoba, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta). Newfoundland and Labrador, which became a province only in 1949, is not assigned to any division, and is represented by six senators. Furthermore, the three territories (the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, and Nunavut) are allocated one senator each.

As a result of this arrangement, Ontario and the Western provinces - Canada's fastest growing provinces in terms of population - are severely under-represented, while the Maritimes are greatly over-represented. For example, British Columbia, with a population of about four million, is entitled to six senators, while Nova Scotia, with a population of fewer than one million, is entitled to ten. Only Quebec is represented by a number of senators proportional to its share of the population.

Since 1989, the voters of Alberta have elected "senators-in-waiting," or nominees for the province's Senate seats. These elections, however, are not held pursuant to any federal constitutional or legal provision; thus, the Prime Minister is not bound to appoint the nominees. Only one senator-in-waiting, Stan Waters, has actually been appointed to the Senate (in 1990 by Brian Mulroney).

There exists a constitutional provision under which the Governor General may appoint four or eight extra senators; the additional senators must equally represent Canada's four "divisions." The Sovereign's direct approval is required for such an action, but would not, by convention, be denied. As in the case of normal senatorial appointments, the Prime Minister actually chooses the senators, and the Governor General's role is purely nominal. This provision has been only used once, in 1990, when Prime Minister Brian Mulroney sought to ensure the passage of a bill creating the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Senators originally held their seats for life. Under the Constitution Act, 1965, however, members may not sit in the Senate after reaching the age of seventy-five. Moreover, a senator's seat automatically becomes vacant if he or she fails to attend the Senate for two consecutive parliamentary sessions. Furthermore, a senator who is found guilty of treason, indictable offence, or any "infamous crime," is declared bankrupt or insolvent, also loses his or her seat, as does a senator who ceases to be qualified. As stated above, the current Conservative government has proposed 8-year term limits for future Senators who would be appointed after being elected in their respective provinces.

Senators are entitled to prefix "The Honourable" to their names for life. The annual salary of each senator, as of 2005, is $119,100; members may receive additional salaries in right of other offices they hold (for instance, the Speakership). Senators rank immediately above Members of Parliament in the order of precedence.

Qualifications

The Constitution Act, 1867 outlines the qualifications of senators. Individuals who are not citizens of Canada, and individuals aged less than thirty years, may not be appointed to the Senate. Senators must also reside in the provinces or territories for which they are appointed.

The Constitution Act, 1867 also sets property qualifications for senators. A senator must possess land worth at least $4,000 in the province for which he or she is appointed. Moreover, a senator must own real and personal property worth at least $4,000, above his or her debts and liabilities. These property qualifications were originally introduced to ensure that the Senate represented Canada's economic and social élite. Now, however, the sum in question is far less valuable due to the effects of inflation. Nevertheless, the property qualification has never been abolished or amended.

The original Canadian constitution did not explicitly bar women from sitting as senators. However, until the end of the 1920s, only men had been appointed to the body. In 1927, five Canadian women ("The Valiant Five") requested the Supreme Court of Canada to determine if females were eligible to become senators. Specifically, they asked if women were considered "persons" under the British North America Act 1867, which provided, "The Governor General shall ... summon qualified Persons to the Senate; and ... every Person so summoned shall become and be a Member of the Senate and a Senator." In Edwards v. Canada (Attorney General) (commonly known as the "Persons Case"), the Supreme Court unanimously held that women could not become senators. The Court based its decision on the grounds that the framers of the constitution did not foresee female senators, as women did not participate in politics at the time; moreover, they pointed to the constitution's use of the pronoun "he" when referring to senators. On appeal, however, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (effectively Canada's highest court at the time) ruled that women were indeed "persons" in the meaning of the constitution. Four months later, the government of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King appointed Canada's first female senator, Cairine Wilson of Ontario.

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Related Links

• Senate Official Website
• Members of the Senate
• Debates of the Senate (Hansard)
• Journals of the Senate
• Live webcasts from the Senate (when in session)