The hon. member is quite right. Equality was the original idea proposed by the triple-E movement about 25 years ago. I could say a number of things about it. One is that equality by province was what they were thinking of.
The Fathers of Confederation sought equality by region. There were three regions of the country in 1867: Ontario; the new province of Quebec; and what they called the maritime region, which was Nova Scotia and New Brunswick only. They then expanded in two ways. First, they recognized a fourth region, the west, which at the time, in the early 20th century, was the smallest region. It became, of course, a larger region over time. The idea of equality between regions was what they were seeking. If we were to change the number of senators, we would have to talk about some kind of balance between the two.
However, that is very much a discussion that can only happen at the level of seeking consent from all the provinces. It is quite a complex question. That is why it has been left out of the package of reference questions and out of this round of attempts to democratize the Senate.
I made this point when Paul Martin was prime minister and we debated the same subject. We should not let perfection be the enemy of the good. If we seek a perfect solution that takes into account everything, we will find that we will not get anything. That leaves us with an appointed Senate, which is the worst of all possible worlds. Let us not, in our search for the best of all realistic worlds, lose sight of the fact that politics is ultimately the art of the possible.