Presented to the Electoral District 23 Liberal Fundraiser
Ellerslie Legion

January 28, 2005

This evening I will be speaking about the Role of the Senate - I will try to clear up some of the popular misconceptions.

As one of the most misunderstood political institutions in Canada, the Senate has been the subject of debate and the target of criticism.

The Senate plays a central role in government. No bill can become law until it is passed by the Senate. For the most part, this requires the review, amendment, and sometimes the rejection of bills passed by the House of Commons – these are the ways in which the Senate fulfils its primary role of providing sober second thought.

At an equally important level, Senators also represent the interest of their regions - and help to protect smaller and less-populated regions from the larger and more powerful. That is one of the reasons why Senators are required to live in their regions. As well, Senators and the Senate have long been defenders and protectors of minority rights.

Beyond those three central roles - protection of minority and regional interests and the detailed review of proposed legislation - the Senate also has a very active committee system. As a result of that activism, the Senate committees have done detailed studies of public policy issues which otherwise would be neglected.

It’s also important to remember that the Senate cannot initiate money bills, raise taxes, or authorize expenditures that have not been approved by the House of Commons. In this regard, our public duties and responsibilities are dramatically different from those of the House of Commons.

Last year alone, the Senate reviewed 77 bills, of these 23 bills were first introduced in the Senate. On average, Senate Committees amend nine percent of government bills.

Senate proceedings are open to the public. Many Senate committees meetings are broadcast over CPAC, the Cable Public Affairs Channel. In 2004, the Senate sat for more days than most provincial Legislative Assemblies, including the Prince Edward Island Legislature. In addition committees meet either in Ottawa or across Canada when the Senate is not in session. On February 1st the Senate Committee on National Security & Defence and the Subcommittee of Veterans Affairs are holding public meetings in P.E.I.

Senate committees have been described as “the heart and soul of the Senate”. They are the most important means by which Senators contribute to public policy development. They provide a forum for the examination of legislation; they conduct investigations and develop reports.

In the last year, Senate Committees met 445 times. They heard from 1, 284 witnesses and wrote 144 reports.

The Committee stage is a three-step process: Committees hold public hearings to gather facts. They invite cabinet ministers, public servants and individuals to present their views and answer questions from Senators. Committees study the bill line by line - discussing the testimony presented by witnesses at which time Senators can propose amendments to the bill. Committees then report on the bill and present it to the full Senate. The bill can be accepted as is, it can be accepted with amendments, or it can be rejected.

The Senate also plays a role in representation. The Senate is divided by region, not by population, so that all regions have equal representation. This is meant to offset the representation by population in the House of Commons and balance the perspectives of all provinces.

The Senate also takes very serious its role of representing minorities. The Senate gives a voice to those people in society that need it most by studying every piece of legislation with careful attention to its implications on individual Canadians.

The Senate is much more reflective of Canadian society compared to the House of Commons. Women make up 51 percent of the total population of Canada but hold only, approximately 20 percent of seats in the House of Commons. In the Senate, women make up 33 percent, 13 percent of Senators are visible minorities and 5 percent are aboriginals – all much higher percentages than the House of Commons.

The work of Senators does not stop at the Senate or even at Committees. Individual Senators work on special issues of their own concern or that of their region. To give you an idea of the work individual Senators do, let me explain to you what P.E.I. Senators are involved with.

I am currently serving on two Senate committees. National Finance and Foreign Affairs. The Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs has a mandate of examining legislation and matters relating to foreign and Commonwealth relations, including treaties and international agreements; external trade; foreign aid and territorial and offshore matters. The National Finance Committees looks at government spending and had hearings specifically on the equalization program. Outside of committees, I have recently done work on the Guaranteed Income Supplement and the decentralization of government departments, agencies and Crown corporations to the regions of Canada.

Other Island Senators include: Senator Libby Hubley who is a member of the Agriculture Committee and the Deputy Chair of the Fisheries Committee. She also does work on post-secondary education. Senator Catherine Callbeck is on the Agriculture and Forestry Committee and the Social Affairs, Science and Technology Committee she also does work on post-secondary education.

In conclusion I would like to discuss some of the criticism directed at the Senate.

I would like to look first at the most contentious issue for the Senate: attendance. The Senate is the only Legislative assembly in Canada which takes attendance and grants access of the finding to the public and media.

The Senate has voluntarily published the attendance of Senators. These records include the attendance in Chamber business and committee meetings and are signed monthly by Senators.

The Senate has recently taken further steps to improve the situation by adopting new rules and regulations and increased deductions from pay for non-attendance. A formal Code of Conduct is also in the works for the Senate which will go even further to ensure the integrity of the institution.

Of all the calls for reforming the Senate, the most common involves abolishing the appointment process and electing Senators.

In the recent Alberta election, the provincial government included Senators-in-waiting on the ballot, in the possibility that Prime Minister Martin would appoint the elected Senators. But the Prime Minister did not do that, and I believe for good reason.

The Canadian Constitution gives the Senate and the House of Commons much of the same powers. The two Chambers have evolved so that they coordinate and complement one another. This reality could change with the electing of Senators. The two Chambers could easily reach a stalemate situation without any avenue to resolve conflict. The Senate would become a Chamber of obstruction, with the ability to block the Government from passing legislation.

On a more basic level, elected Senators would become more political and focussed on re-election.

The current Senate tends to be less-partisan than the House of Commons and Senators work not only on high profile issues that receive media attention but also on the unexciting work of reviewing legislation that can have tremendous impacts on the lives of ordinary Canadians. The Senate reviews Government estimates and spending, something that gets little time or attention in the House of Commons. Senate Committees hear many more witnesses than the House of Commons Committee system, allowing Canadians to be heard, and have a say in government decision.

So in response to the proposed elected Senate, I say that Canada does not need two House of Commons, it needs a system with two Chambers that work together, and complement each other as does the current Senate with the House of Commons.

Does the Senate need to be reformed? Yes, after 138 years it is time for a careful review, but I would submit the current Senate contributes greatly to Parliament, and I believe it is time to change the perception of the Senate so that Canadians can see it for the positive institution that it is.

Thank you for your attention, I hope these remarks have shed a new light on the Senate.