Sir John A. McDonald, Canada’s first Prime Minister, has
been oft-quoted for suggesting that the Canadian Senate was a place for a
“sober second thought”.
It was, and is, an upper house modelled on the English House
of Lords – the members are not elected, but are instead appointed by the
Governor on the advice of the Prime Minster. In that regard, it follows the
original idea of a senate – ‘the assembly of elders’. And in such a case, a
senate works. The Government has the right to appoint whoever they want to the
upper house, meaning it’s not a site for politicking and policy-blocking, and
instead provides McDonald’s quote with weight. It does, however, bypass the notion
of true democracy, and Stephen Harper has long suggested an overhaul of the
Canadian senate.
