The Senate of Canada

The Senate and Legislation

• Last year the Senate reviewed 77 bills
• 20 public bills and 3 private bills were introduced in the Senate
• 8 bills were amended
• On average Senate Committees amend 9 percent of government bills
• In the past ten years all of the Senate amendments were accepted by the House of Commons

Senate Proceedings

• All Senate proceedings are open to the public
• Many Senate Committee meetings are broadcast over the Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC)
• In the 2004 year the Senate sat for more days than most provincial legislatures including the Prince Edward Island Legislature.

Senate Committees

There are four main types of Senate Committees:

• Standing Committees
• Special Committees
• Joint Committees
• Committee of the Whole

Senate Committees

Committees have three basic functions:

• detailed study of proposed legislation
• investigation of policy matters
• examination of government spending proposals, called the Estimates.
• In 2004 Senate Committees met 445 times for over 790 hours and heard from 1, 284 witnesses and wrote 144 reports.

The Senate and Representations

Women make up 51% of the population in Canada and account for approximately 20% in the House of Commons and 33% in the Senate
Aboriginals account for 3% of the population and 5% in the Senate
Visible Minorities account for 13% of the population and 13% of the Senate

Work of Individual Senators

Downe: National Finance, Foreign Affairs, Guaranteed Income Supplement and decentralization Hubley: Agriculture, Vice Chair Fisheries, post-secondary education
Callbeck: Agriculture, Social Affairs, Science and Technology, post-secondary education.
Kirby: Chair Social Affairs, Science and Technology, reports on healthcare
Jaffer: Human Rights, Africa and Women’s Security
Kenny: Chair of National Security and Defence, and other security issues.

Cost of the Senate

Salaries

• Prime Minister: $282,000
• Member of Parliament: $141,000
• Cabinet Minister: $208,000
• Senator: $116,000

Operational Allowance

• Cabinet Minister: $1,405,000
• Member of Parliament: $228,100
• Senator: $130,700

Total Cost Per Canadian

• The Senate costs each Canadian $2.31 per year
• The House of Commons costs each Canadian $10.89 per year

THE CALL FOR REFORM AND THE PROBLEMS WITH AN ELECTED SENATE