Mr. Speaker, this government received a strong mandate from Canadians to reform the Senate. The status quo in the Senate is unacceptable. Senators can serve terms of up to 45 years without a democratic mandate from Canadians. Canadians find that unacceptable. We ask the opposition to support this bill and change the Senate, and not support the status quo in the Senate.
In the House of Commons on December 9th, 2011. See this statement in context.