[Reform Canada]

Canada Ping

[FloreatIacobus]

Second chambers are difficult to get right, and from what I’ve heard the Canadian Senate is one of the more difficult.

A second chamber which works well is a very useful system indeed - the old-style House of Lords was excellent at that - but unfortunately where a chamber is unelected it is too easy for folk to run around wailing “democratic legitimacy”. Yet when the chamber is elected it becomes difficult to give it lesser powers than the other chamber.

Where there is no established heretidary basis for the second chamber, I have a fondness for indirect election (such as used to be practiced for the U.S. Senate).

[Grig]

I’ll be really surprised if he pulls it off. I think this is more about showing a) he is serious about reforming it and b) he needs a majority government to reform it.

[goldstategop]

The provinces don't want it and the best thing to do is to abolish the Senate. Canadian provinces admitted to the Confederation after the original six created it in 1867 came with one house. Ontario and Quebec abolished their upper house. There's no need for an unelected body of political hacks in a democratic age in Canada.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus