Thank you.
I accept the argument. It's been the New Democratic position that an elected Senate is not going to happen simply because there's enough entrenched interest to say it won't happen.
I'm interested in following this little side puppet show we're creating here for a consultation process. Given that the Prime Minister can't deal with real democratic reform and we're going to go down a consultation route, why is the Prime Minister and the government writing into the bill that they don't have to bother to even use this consultation process? Why does it not say in the bill that if a senator resigns, there will be a Senate election either at the first provincial election, if the province is willing, or the federal election? Why is it a matter of choice?