Senate Reform
Last week the Supreme Court laid out the rules for reforming the Senate. To put it mildly, even small changes are going to be difficult, and that’s not a bad thing; constitutional change should not be done lightly. The biggest problem however may be that politicians may have different interests than the voters, which is why I think an idea put forward by Conservative cabinet Minister Max Bernier may have some merit. He is suggesting that a referendum or plebiscite be held on the issue. While it would not be binding on any Premier, any Provincial Government that feels it could ignore the wishes of its voters will do so at its own peril. Just because senate reform is difficult doesn’t mean the government shouldn’t try to implement changes, but if we are going to be successful it will only be with broad popular support.
I’m Brad Trost, Member of Parliament for Saskatoon-Humboldt and I’m working for you. For more information, check out my website at bradtrost.ca.