Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

The Parliament of Canada has two houses, the elected lower house (the House of Commons) and the appointed upper house (the Senate). Both houses are involved in the passing of legislation. Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, said the Senate was to be a place of "sober second thought" so that legislation would receive proper and careful consideration before finally becoming law. Has excessive partisanship eroded the “sober second thought” of the Senate? Prime Minister Stephen Harper has appointed 58 Senators since taking office in 2006, despite his stated intention to either transform the Senate into an elected body or abolish it altogether. The Harper Government is presently seeking clarification from the Supreme Court on its powers to change the Senate. Will the recent scandals involving Harper appointees change that strategy? The speaker will voice his opinion related to those questions and also argue that the current appointment process is not in step with the preference Canadians consis