Canadian Senate?

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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 appointed 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.

The Senate is the upper house of Parliament, whereas the House of Commons is the lower house.

As a matter of practice and custom, the Senate is far less powerful than the House of Commons. Although the approval of both Houses is necessary for legislation, the Senate 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. Bills, with the exception of money bills, can be started in either House. Normally, government legislation is introduced in the House of Commons, but a number of government bills are introduced in the Senate. Also, private bills (not to be confused with private member's bills) are normally introduced in the Senate. Constitutionally, money bills must be started in the House of Commons.

As does the House of Commons, the Senate sits at Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario. Each House has separate chambers at the Parliament Buildings.

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 what are now the provinces of Quebec and Ontario) and 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 mere 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 and Conservative parties generally call for the status quo or more moderate reform; the Conservative Party has moved back from its predecessor Reform Party's strong advocacy of Triple-E, but individual Conservatives may tend to favour stronger reforms than individual Liberals.

Senators

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. In practice, a large number of the members of the Senate are 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. He was appointed in 1990 by Brian Mulroney, but died in 1991.

There exists a constitutional provision, Section 26 of the Constitution Act, 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 successfully used only once, in 1990, when Prime Minister Brian Mulroney sought to ensure the passage of a bill creating the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The appointment of eight additional senators allowed a slight Tory majority.

In 1874 Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie tried to use Section 26, but was denied by the crown on the advice of the British Government.

Senators originally held their seats for life. Under the Constitution Act, 1965, however, newly-appointed members may not sit in the Senate after reaching the age of seventy-five. (Incumbents, those appointed prior to the change, could continue to sit past age 75.) 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 (see below).

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, and initially caused problems with the 1997 Senate appointment of Sister Peggy Butts, a Catholic nun who had taken a vow of poverty. (The situation was resolved when her order formally transferred a small parcel of land to her name.)

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 w/. summon qualified Persons to the Senate; and w/. 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.

Officers

The presiding officer of the Senate, known as the Speaker, is appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Speaker is assisted by a Speaker pro tempore, or temporary Speaker, who is elected by the Senate at the beginning of each parliamentary session. If the Speaker is unable to attend, the Speaker pro tempore presides instead. Furthermore, the Parliament of Canada Act, passed in 1985, authorizes the Speaker to appoint another Senator to take his or her place temporarily.

The Speaker oversees the day-to-day running of the Senate, and controls debates by calling on members to speak. If a senator believes that a rule (or Standing Order) has been breached, he or she may raise a "point of order," on which the Speaker makes a ruling. The Speaker's decisions, however, are subject to appeal to the whole Senate. When presiding, the Speaker remains impartial, though he or she still maintains membership of a political party. The current Speaker of the Senate is The Honourable Daniel Philip Hays.

The member of the Government responsible for steering legislation through the Senate is Leader of the Government in the Senate. The Leader is a senator selected by the Prime Minister. The Leader manages the schedule of the Senate, and attempts to secure the Opposition's support for the Government's legislative agenda. The Opposition equivalent is the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, who is selected by his or her counterpart in the House, the Leader of the Opposition. However, if the Official Opposition in the House is a different party than the Official Opposition in the Senate (as was the case, for example, from 1993 to 2003), then the Senate party chooses its own leader.

Officers of the Senate who are not members include the Clerk, the Deputy Clerk, the Law Clerk, and several other clerks. These officers advise the Speaker and members on the rules and procedure of the Senate. Another important officer is the Usher of the Black Rod, whose duties include the maintenance of order and security on the Senate's premises. The Usher of the Black Rod bears a ceremonial black ebony staff, from which the title "Black Rod" arises.

Procedure

The throne and chair in the background are used by the Governor General and his or her spouse during the opening of Parliament. The Speaker of the Senate employs the chair in front.