Senate Reform In Canada Essay

In 1867, the British parliament passed the British North American Act. This is the constitution of Canada. A constitution is a set of rules regulating the operation of a country’s government. The federal system was thus adopted as an acceptable form of government despite the fact that many of the Fathers of Confederation including, The Right Honourable Sir John A. Macdonald did not believe that a federal system would be operable and consequently opposed it in favor of a unitary government. Two very important sections of the Canadian Constitution are sections 91 and 92. These sections deal with the specific responsibilities of the federal and provincial governments. The major contribution of the British North America Act, 1867 to Canada’s

constitutional development was federalism. Under the federal system Canada gained two distinct levels of political authority: a central Canadian Parliament and provincial legislative assemblies, in addition to a system of parliamentary government that included a House of Commons, Senate, justice system, and taxation system. Canada’s unique form of government embodying the principle of territorial representation, with regional governments possessing the exclusive right to pass laws on particular subjects
Argument1:
The most important provisions that emerged from the British North America Act, 1867 was for a division of powers between the federal Parliament and the provinces. The newly implemented form of government emerged would be highly centralized. This was in part, because the federal government had assumed some of the powers previously exercised by Britain. Federalism is commonly adopted in countries that display variances in climate, geography, religion, language, culture and economies; it is especially suited for multinational and multicultural states that wish to preserve these characteristics. Essentially, the federal arrangement, or compact, is the result of conflicting pressures among its constituting parts. Similar to the legislation that had preceded it, the British North America Act, 1867 was controversial. The French-speaking population was divided on joining the federation; the issue of the separation of powers between the federal and provincial governments was far from settled. As a result, the constitution incorporated some of the provisions of the Quebec Act respecting Quebec’s distinctiveness, including the official status of the French language in Quebec During this period, Canada continued to grow and mature as a federation, with redefined boundaries and land made available for further settlement in the West. Thus, essentially, the federal system is adopted where it is felt that the preservation of the individuality and separateness of the constituent parts is as important as the preservation of the nation as a whole. Any matters not specifically mentioned in the Constitution are considered powers of the federal government. Moreover, perhaps, The division of powers and responsibilities in Canada reflects the country’s unique history, social and economic makeup, and institutional design. Canada is one of the world’s most decentralized federations. This is a result both of the federal character of Canadian society and of the design of its institutions.

Today?

As we have shown, the evolution of the division of powers has resulted in two strong orders of government in Canada, each with broad authority to act. In most policy areas, federal and provincial governments have to coordinate their actions, if only because many contemporary policy issues cut across the jurisdictional boundaries originally defined in the Constitution.

Worst?

Canada has a weak Senate. It has formal authority that is almost equivalent with that of the elected House of Commons, and it provides for representation by region. Conversely, its role as a representative of provincial populations or governments within the federal legislature is rudimentarily marred by the fact that the Prime Minister appoints senators. My criticism towards the structure of the senate is that because members are assigned, the Senate is used in as patronage to the Official Party. The senate consisting of 105 senators take part in formal debate on current affairs. The senators’ foremost job is to examine bills proposed by the Government, a similar process of debate as in the House of Commons, and a bill must pass the Senate before it can become law.

If I could convent a Canadian constitutional meeting today, I would bring forth my issue regarding the senate. In essence, the objectives of Senate reform are based on one idea, that of enhancing the quality of regional representation and focuses on fair government.
The idea of senate reform has been a part of the Canadian political discussion since confederation.

Senate Reform address two main issue with the Senate and the solutions in order create a Parliament that would speak and act on behalf of Canadians in all parts of the country. As previously mentioned, the senate is weak, mainly due to political affiliation and a history of incompetent senators. Interconnecting with the issue regarding the Prime Minister’s ability to select his own Senators is that it over-represents the business leaders of the country that it serves as a feeding stratagem for the government party. The implementation of a Senate, which is elected rather than appointed, would ensure that representatives were more responsive to the public. It would also give the Senate the authority to exercise the substantial powers given to it by the Canadian Constitution. Any political institution can obtain formal or legal powers, but if the public does not want them to use it, these powers may not be exercised. In addition, most Canadians have reservations about appointments to a legislative body for such a long term in this, a more democratic age than when the Senate was

established.

Senators in our Upper House do not really represent anyone except for the one who appointed them-the Prime Minister. It is because of this reason that they cannot effectively express the views of anyone since their appointment lacks legitimacy in our democratic age. However, when Senators criticize and delay the legislative process, they only remind us of how much could be accomplished effectively if only they represented the people who had elected them. Additionally, the senate is that there is an imbalance in regards to representations, the senate has done a poor job of accommodating seating for some provinces whose populations is more dense than other areas though lacks adequate representation. A simple solution is allowing Canadians to elect all one hundred and four senators. The number of seats per province would not be fixed but based on the ratio of provincial population to total population. The minimum number of representatives would be one, all provinces and territories would Moreover, and Senator’s would be elected along with the Members of Parliament. Additional criteria that I would propose is that two seats be added for honorary Senators, both must be of Aboriginal decent, resident on a reserves, cannot be a resident of one of the three territories and have some form of political background. The Native voice in politics is often unheard, where the senate as been historically dominated by wealthy Caucasian men, these honorary senators would hold provide a voice for the historically oppressed first nations. The principle of equality simply means that every province or region would be equally represented in the Senate regardless of its population. The need for equal representation arises when provinces like Ontario are compared to The Government of Canada stresses the importance in strengthening the role of the Senate in representing people from all parts of the country. Equal representation allows the Parliament to speak and act with greater authority on behalf of all Canadians. Meanwhile, a delicate equilibrium must be established if the Senate's role in regional representation is to be upgraded while maintaining the effectiveness of Parliament.