Talk of abolishing the Senate is futile for two reasons.

First, it is very close to constitutionally impossible. Although not cut and dried, the Constitution appears to require concurrent consent from all provinces plus Parliament to legislate the Senate out of existence. At the very least it would require such approval from seven provinces containing over half the population of Canada – a difficult enough test. In addition, under the federal Regional Veto Act, abolition could be stopped by any two provinces in either the West or the Atlantic region, or unilaterally by Ontario or Quebec. Most provincial governments and both major national political parties want the upper house either reformed or left as it is.

Second, we should not become the only federal system in the world which refuses to give the federated jurisdictions – the provinces – a voice and vote in Parliament. Provincial governments by themselves have no power in federal affairs, even though federal decisions affect them on an almost daily basis. Provincial premiers like to think that they have national influence through the new Council of the Federation, but their influence extends only as far as Ottawa chooses to let it.

Abolishing the Senate is not a real option. Our choice is to leave it alone or to elect it.