Reforms Are Need In Canada's Government

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and more to the people. This was the issue of Senate Reform.

Why is Senate Reform such an important issue? An argument could be made that a
political body, which has survived over one hundred years in Canada, must
obviously work, or it would have already been reformed. This is simply not true,
and this becomes apparent when analyzing the current Canadian Senate.

In its inception, the Senate was designed to play an important role in the
Government of Canada, representing various regions of the federation. Quebec,
Ontario, the maritimes and the west were allotted twenty-four Senators each.
Considered to be the heart of the federal system, the Senate was to be a crucial
balancing mechanism between Upper and Lower Canada (Mallory pg. 247). It was
important for there to be equal representation, and not representation by
population. Senators were to be appointed, in order to ensure that the House was
independent and had the freedom to act on its own. As well, Senators had to be
seen ...

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of all ideologies nor reflective of the people's interest.
No member of the Senate, for example, reflects the New Democratic Party's view,
since that party has never been in power. Therefore that portion of Canada who
supports the NDP is certainly not represented. How legitimate is the Senate when
its members are appointed and not elected? Thirdly, the Senate is not
necessarily comprised of members with political experience, and this brings
about the question of efficiency; how effective can the Senate be if its
membersare not all comprised of 'experienced' politicians?

Another flaw in the Senate is that, due to appointment, the Upper House has been
viewed as an old-folks home ...

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