"LOSING CONFIDENCE" Restoring Democracy in Parliamentary Tradition - The Senate & Electoral Reform

Elizabeth May sets out the crisis in Canadian Democracy, claiming, and rightly so, that our primary government structures are failing to perform or even being capable of performing the highest level of service that Canada needs right now.  The following initial argument suggests a way to introduce much needed "checks and balances" in a system that has devolved to be less effective than either its British parent's or its American cousin's systems.

Current standings in the Senate ( http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/senmemb/senate/ps-e.htm), and in the House of Commons, with ProRep comparisons.

House of Commons   (FPTP)     (ProRep)              Senate                        (appt.)  (ProRep)

Liberal                      76,               81                    Liberal                              55,      28,

Conservative            143,             117                    Conservative & PC              40,      39,

NDP                           37,             57                     NDP                                    0      19,

Bloc                           50              28                     Bloc                                    0      10,

Green                          0              23                     Green                                  0        8,

Others                         2                2                     Vacant, Other                     10        1

(Standings in the House of Commons from Elizabeth May, Losing Confidence, page 199)

So, if the Commons and the Senate were both "elected" by proportional representation, the mix in both Houses would change dramatically.  The Senate would be "elected" indirectly by using the % of popular vote achieved by each party in the most recent general election.  The percentages would be applied to Party Preference Lists.  In this way the Canadian Voter would be assured that the Senate not only represented the whole of Canada in a representative way geographically, but also in a qualitative way politically.  There would be no possibility of "false majorities" in either House, and there would be a low possibility of "grid lock" between the two houses. 

The Senate would not be accountable to the Prime Minister's Office, or to the Government caucus or to the House of Commons.  It would perform an entirely independent service in its role as a "sober second thought".  It could operate much like a shadow cabinet would, providing  a critical "show me" perspective on legislation proposed by the Commons.  Every vote in the Senate would be a "free vote", with each Senator free from the requirement to "tow the party line".  There is no hiding the fact that the various political parties will have influence over the Senators who are "elected", but that influence pales by comparison with the power of the Prime Minister's Office.  Proposed legislation would need to be amended and re-amended until it achieved a majority in both Houses.  Such an expectation should not be an arduous burden, given the relatively similar set of ideologies at play.

An alternative that would be very interesting and perhaps even more powerful in the sense of checks and balances is the "election of the Senate" based upon the actual % of popular vote in a general election of the House of Commons, even though the Commons would continue to elect on the basis of first past the post.  The impact of more diversity in political perspective  would serve to  emphasize the weaknesses  inherent with FPTP, and would, I believe, ultimately lead to  proportional election of the Commons as well. 

The impact of Senate reform would probably open the doors to reforms in the election of Provincial Legislatures as well.  Quebec could see real advantages with not only having Bloc members in the Senate but a strengthened popular representation in Quebec's Parliament.

I would not recommend a referendum on Senate Reform, but I would recommend serious study and confirmation of the Constitutional rights of the House of Commons to legislate this reform.  No doubt that strong public support will be needed, and that is, as always, the proper realm of political activism.   The failures in both BC and Ontario to embrace electoral reform lies mainly with the manner in which the "contests" were conducted.  In BC the deliberate "Yes" versus "No", competition was just a typical exercise in first past the post methodology - both sides compelled to present extreme positions, with the citizens left trying to find the real truth and value in the proposition.  Representing the Green Party of BC, I challenged the Chief Electoral Officer on his choice ( government's choice ) of methodology, and the NDP were silent, that is complicit.  The more effective process would have been apolitical, education oriented and much more balanced.

We can learn from our failures and apply ourselves to bringing our Federal Governance up to speed with the needs of the 21st. century.

John Hague

An Independent Voice for Healthy, Prosperous and Sustainable Community

"Nature, People, Business - In Harmony"