Skip to main content
editorial

Most Canadians don’t think about the Senate outside of those times it’s involved in some scandal or other. But they should. It is an unelected institution that, for all its faults, isn’t going anywhere – the Constitution sees to that – but it happens to be undergoing an internal revolution the public should have a say in.

Over the past three years, the Senate has moved away from being a partisan body organized along the lines of the major federal parties and become what one senator this week likened to a “think tank.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to abolish the Senate Liberal caucus and appoint senators who sit as independents is the reason for this. He has named 45 senators since taking power, almost all of whom have joined the Independent Senators Group (ISG), an unaligned faction that now has all the privileges of a traditional party caucus.

The ISG holds 54 seats in the 105-seat chamber, which would give it control except for the fact its members are under no obligation to vote as a bloc. Freed from partisan binds, the Senate is amending more legislation than ever – according to one report, 14 out of 53 bills so far this session.

The question for voters will be whether or not they support an activist Senate or prefer to go back to the old system in which the sitting prime minister appoints party loyalists to a chamber with the same party structure as the Commons. That is the current position of Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives.

The results of the Liberal experiment are still unclear. The new Senate has amended more bills than ever, but the ISG members appointed by Mr. Trudeau have consistently supported the Liberal government, according to a CBC analysis. Is this partisanship, or deference?

As well, senators are being lobbied more frequently by interest groups, according to the lobbying commissioner. Senators are more influential and independent than ever, and yet as unelected as ever.

Filling the Senate with unthinking loyalists has never appealed to Canadians. But that doesn’t mean they want mavericks who answer to no one to block the decisions of the elected House of Commons. The federal parties – who must answer to voters in 2019 – need to share their Senate plans.

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe