ANDRUS: Once again the Senate is front-burner for reform

As Canada edges closer to a potential change in government, the Senate —stacked with 82 'Independent' Senators appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — stands as a looming threat to the constitutional order of this country.These Senators, independent in name only and widely agreed to be largely aligned with Trudeau’s ideology, could soon find themselves at the centre of a constitutional crisis. With the power to block crucial legislation that would come with a new party at the helm in Ottawa, will the Senate challenge the mandate of a newly and duly elected government?The answer could shape Canada’s political landscape for years to come.The potential for a constitutional crisis is not merely theoretical. In a scenario where the Senate blocks or severely delays the legislative agenda of an elected Conservative government, the consequences could be dire.As pointed out by Howard Anglin (Stephen Harper’s former Deputy Chief of Staff) and Ray Pennings (Executive Vice President and co-founder of the think tank CARDUS,) such actions “would plunge the country into a constitutional crisis the likes of which we have not seen in more than a century.”“The fact that individual senators who ‘resisted’ a Conservative government would likely be feted by many Laurentian elites as political heroes would only highlight the Senate’s democratic deficit and exacerbate the institutional damage."Historically, the Senate has not shied away from exercising its power to kill or amend bills — doing so 119 times between 1867 and 1945, either directly or by amending them in ways that the elected government disagreed with.Another 85 bills did not come to a vote in the Senate before Parliament was dissolved or prorogued, which means they 'died on the order paper.'During this period, the Senate showed a tremendous willingness to challenge new administrations. For instance, during Alexander Mackenzie's first term in 1874, eight bills were defeated; when Wilfred Laurier came to power in 1896, 19 bills met the same fate; and during Mackenzie King's tenure in 1921, 14 bills were similarly obstructed.After the Second World War however, the Senate took a secondary role in governance, seeming to recognize its lack of legitimacy as a body of government that did not have to contest popular elections. However, the Senate still proved to be a significant obstacle for Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, who succeeded Pierre Trudeau in 1984. After all, it had been filled with 81 of the elder Trudeau's appointees during his 15-plus year tenure as Prime Minister. Indeed in 1988, after Mulroney secured a free trade agreement with the United States, the Liberal-dominated Senate insisted on an election before approving the bill, despite its passage in the House of Commons.Mulroney’s hand was forced and an election was called, with the voters returning the Progressive Conservatives in a landslide later in the year.In 1990, not to be deterred, the Senate attempted to block Brian Mulroney’s introduction of the GST. Mulroney, after scouring the British North America Act, discovered that he could pack the chamber with eight more senators in the event of an emergency — just enough to overcome the Liberal opposition. “The will of the accountable House of Commons must be supreme to the will of the appointed Senate,” declared Mulroney at the time.It turned out that the GST was quite unpopular with the general public and by 1993 Mulroney had retired as the Prime Minister, after which his successor Kim Campbell led the Progressive Conservatives into electoral Armageddon. The party emerged with just two seats.But here's what looks tricky: Once returned to power, the Jean Chretien-led Liberals did not rescind the GST — and the Senate seemed just fine with it then!Now, years later, another Trudeau-dominated Senate has been rubber stamping federal legislation that has violated the constitutional jurisdiction of the provinces in various areas — with the most notable example being the controversial Impact Assessment Act, now deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.This is in spite of the fact that some Trudeau-appointed Senators, including Alberta’s Paula Simons, believe the Senate’s role is to protect the Constitution from parliamentary overreach.Discussing potential laws brought in by a new government, Simons wrote that: “If such policies were clearly endorsed by Canadians, we would lack constitutional authority to scuttle them. It will still be our job to hold the next government to account, to critique and amend bills — but not to defy the expressed will of the electorate."“What," she continued, "would our duty be, if any government — present or future — were to introduce legislation that was clearly unconstitutional? Or legislation that pre-emptively invoked the notwithstanding clause, as an end-run around the Charter? How should the Senate respect the democratic will of an elected parliament, while still protecting minority rights?”Postmedia columnist Jesse Kline points out the hypocrisy inherent in the current position of the “Independent” Senators rather succinctly: "The fact that the Senate has given Trudeau a free pass to trample all over provincial rights while some of its members now try to set it up as the second coming of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Canada’s highest court until 1949, exposes Trudeau’s non-partisan Senate as the sham it truly is."There are major problems with the Senate’s attitude about their role in governance. In its current form, the Senate is an unelected body and therefore Senators do not derive their power from the will of the public as acquired through popular elections. As Globe and Mail columnist Andrew Coyne points out: “The Fathers of Confederation intended the Senate to be weak: that is, famously, why they made it an appointed body. Lacking a democratic mandate, Senators would be obliged to mind their place, averting the prospect of deadlock with the lower house.”Not only that, the Senate is regionally imbalanced, despite the fact that it is designed to represent the various regions of confederation. Ontario and Quebec have 24 Senators each, the maritime provinces are granted 24 seats, while only 24 seats are reserved for the western provinces. Newfoundland and Labrador have six seats while the territories have one each.If Canada ever wants a Senate that can act as a real check on the power of the federal government on behalf of the provinces, the seats must be distributed evenly. These structural issues significantly increase the likelihood that any attempts to overturn legislation opposing the prevailing orthodoxy of Trudeau’s Senate appointees — such as repealing the carbon tax or reforming bail rules — could push the country into a constitutional crisis.As such, the only way to avoid the crisis is to fix the problem. We know, due to a 2014 Supreme Court opinion, that any changes to the Senate (even something as small as imposing term limits) would need full constitutional changes through a constitutional convention.It’s long overdue for this country to significantly overhaul an institution that derives its power via appointments from the prime minister. But, the Senate itself might also provide the impetus for more significant structural changes to Confederation.If the Senate were to challenge the legislative agenda of a duly elected federal government, it would create more urgency for a constitutional convention that we seem to be on track for already..This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. 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ANDRUS: Once again the Senate is front-burner for reform

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