Upper chambers exist for two main reasons: to help the lower house control the government (i.e. hold the Prime Minister and his cabinet accountable), and to reconcile local rights and interests in national decisions.

Unfortunately, due to the way our Senate is chosen, it has done neither of these tasks over time. How could it? Its members are hand-picked and directed by the same national party leaders who run the House of Commons. Until now the Senate has fulfilled at best an advisory role – often described as “sober second thought.” This third role,
while helpful, is far less important.

Until they exercise an elected mandate, the Senate will continue as an expensive federal advisory committee. [click on image to the right for larger picture]

In the horse-drawn era of 1867 there were practical impediments to the province-wide election of senators, and people then had stronger faith in the wisdom of their political elites [See quote, bottom right. Click image for larger view].

Until the Senate is elected, it can’t win. As Senator Carl Goldenberg complained in 1974, “If we enact legislation speedily, we are called rubber stamps. If we exercise the constitutional authority which the Senate possesses under the British North America Act, we are told that we are doing something that we have no right to do.”