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proportional francophone representation.

As it stands today, the Senate has 104 seats, which are divided into 4

divisions. Ontario, Quebec, the Maritimes and the western provinces each share

24 seats. Newfoundland has 6 seats while the Yukon and Northwest Territories

have 1 each. In the case of Quebec, 24 regions were created in order to have a

balance of anglophone and francophone representatives. Under the proposed

Triple E Senate, there would be 6 representatives from each and every province

while the territories had one each. This would provide for a new 62 member

Senate which would be elected at the same time as Members of Parliament. The

only exception would be Quebec where Senators would be hand-chosen by the

National Assembly.

The principle of equality simply means that every province or region

would be equally represented in the Senate regardless of its population. The

need for equal representation arises when provinces like Ontario are compared to

Prince Edward Island, Since Ontario’s population is so huge compared to many

other provinces, it along with Quebec could automatically become the majority in

the Commons when their interests were similar. The comparison between Ontario

and Prince Edward Island might be a bit extreme, but what it really equates to

is that Alberta and other provinces cannot have the same powers as Ontario and

Quebec. With equal representation, no province would have to worry about being

outvoted by such a wide margin that the interests of the citizens were

completely ignored.

The Government of Canada stresses the importance in strengthening the

role of the Senate in representing people from all parts of the country. Equal

representation allows the Parliament to speak and act with greater authority on

behalf of all Canadians. Meanwhile, a delicate equilibrium must be established

if the Senate’s role in regional representation is to be upgraded while

maintaining the effectiveness of Parliament.

At the time of its creation, the Senate was assigned extensive formal

authority and with only two qualifications, it would be equal in power to the

House of Commons. Not until recently were limitations placed on the Upper

Chamber’s powers as a result of constitutional amendments. However, even today,

no federal legislation can be passed until it has been passed by majorities in

both the Senate and the House of Commons. The problem of the present Senate is

not a lack of power, but the lack of confidence and legitimacy that would allow

it to maintain and use that power. The Canadian Upper House has all the formal

legal power imaginable, including a complete veto on any and all government

legislation. Even with so much power, the Senate has felt no justification in

defying the Lower House ever since the widespread democratic sentiment in Canada

not long after Confederation.

Another reason for the Senate’s past ineffectiveness is due to the fact

that Senate appointments are partisan in nature. The majority in the Upper

House would usually correspond to the majority in the Lower House since

appointments were made by the Prime Minister. The House of Commons will

continue to be the subject to tight party discipline, whereas it can be less

strict in the Senate, since it was designed so that it does not control the fate

of the government. Another reason is because the majority of amendments to

bills have been introduced to the Senate after it was already approved by the

House of Commons. Therefore, it did not really matter whether or not there was

a majority in both chambers by the same party.

One of the benefits of the Triple E Senate is that it will definitely

have a positive effect on the rest of Canada’s political institutions. If the

House of Commons was to have a reformed Senate watching over it, it would have

to work harder, implement more compromises into their policies and this would

make it that much more effective. The regional interests and views on national

policy can also be dealt with by a reformed Senate, thus allowing provincial

powers to focus on their respective mandates instead of just campaigning on

national policies.

Regionalism is a major force in Canada, one that pervades almost all

aspects of our political lives. Therefore, it is extremely important that a

means of expression is available to us in our national institutions. The Triple

E Senate builds a federal principle into the national government which then

provides a more effective regional balance on the majority rule of the House of

Commons. More specifically, a reformed Senate will enhance the visibility of

provincial and regional representation in Ottawa, create more effective

territorial checks and balances within the legislative process and improve the

credibility and legitimacy of the national government in disaffected regions of

Canada. Ten years ago, the concept of a Triple E Senate was unimaginable, but

it is very much on the minds of Canadians these days. Due to insufficient

regional and provincial representation at the national level , Canadians are now

asking whether we could not follow the example of other federations by

strengthening the second chamber of our national Parliament.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Campbell, Colin. The Canadian Senate. Toronto: The Macmillan Company of Canada

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