Bill C-20 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session) committee  I think it is a move towards an elected Senate. Other federal countries typically do have an upper house. They typically are elected. Australia and the United States spring to mind. As for your small countries, I was on a visit to the Bahamas a few years ago and I visited their

Bill C-20 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session) committee  I didn't have a good sense, in reading Bill C-20, of exactly how it was all going to work. I notice that the nomination process is not restricted to the parties, so there will obviously be nominees who don't come from parties. The question is, can they get elected if they're not

Bill C-20 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session) committee  You'd have that for quite a long time, you know, because all the existing senators are grandfathered. So as consultations are held to bring people into the Senate, you're going to have a mixture of people who were selected under a consultation and people who, before the passage o

Bill C-20 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session) committee  I don't think I can add anything to that. I accept what my colleague says.

Bill C-20 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session) committee  Of course it will take a long time, because all existing senators are grandfathered and will be there until age 75, but eventually you will have a Senate in which people retire at the end of every eight years, assuming you pass Bill C-19, and a consultation is held to appoint a r

Bill C-20 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session) committee  Exactly.

Bill C-20 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session) committee  This is just speculation, but it is possible that as the Senate evolves into a more completely elected body, the influence of political parties will become stronger than it is now, and it's already pretty strong now. As I said earlier, I don't think party discipline and the prote

Bill C-20 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session) committee  That, I think, takes me outside the envelope of my limited knowledge.

Bill C-20 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session) committee  I do agree that we could switch to an elected Senate if we went through the amending procedure. But as I said earlier, if a consultation is held and the Prime Minister is confronted with a list of the wishes of the voters as to who should represent them in the Senate, he will fee

Bill C-20 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session) committee  I don't think there is any answer to that. If you look at the Australian Senate, for example, where an equal number of senators are elected from each state, it votes entirely on party lines. The protection of the states from which the senators are drawn, if it's a consideration a

Bill C-20 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session) committee  I think you can start with the proposition that the appointing power under section 24 does not say anything about the Prime Minister at all; it just speaks about the Governor General. It doesn't restrict in any way the kinds of consultations that the Prime Minister can undertake

Bill C-20 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session) committee  I think so. I agree with the proposition that when people vote in a consultation for members of the Senate they will expect their views to be respected. I think that's the view the Prime Minister will take, and I don't think there's anything unethical or fraudulent about it. I th

Bill C-20 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session) committee  Yes, Mr. Paquette, it does constitute an amendment to the Constitution, but it is an amendment that is authorized under section 44, because that section allows Parliament to make laws amending the Constitution of Canada in relation to the Senate. And it only exempts from that pow

Bill C-20 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session) committee  Well, I think it's important, Mr. Moore, because if the Prime Minister were required to use the consultation process and were then required by statute to give effect to the outcome, I think we would have a very strong argument--along the lines of Mr. Paquette's point--that Parlia

Bill C-20 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session) committee  To start, it would be an improvement to Bill C-20 if the consultation were with members of the legislative assembly of the particular province. I suppose that could have been an alternative mechanism. But surely if that person believes that Senate appointments should be made in c