Quote:
|
Originally Posted by MarchHare
If you were to allocate based on province, you'd have:
Atlantic: 40
Quebec: 10
Ontario: 10
Praries: 30
BC: 10
That to me sees a very large and disproportionate amount of power going to the Atlantic Provinces, a region that represents only about 7% of Canada's total population. Why would someone in the West advocate such a change?
|
Because it would balance the power Ontario and Quebec have in the Commons.
If we go by your regional alignment, then ON and PQ still control about 40% of the Senate. Enough to ensure that their will is the dominating factor in Canada when coupled with their dominance of the Commons
Besides, why would we want BC to have three times as many Senators as Alberta would?
A EEE Senate does give the Maritimes - and the West - disproportionate power relative to population, but that is balanced by the HoC.
With a EEE Senate, all regions get a voice that matters. The Maritimes (and the West) could not dictate policy via the Senate because of the Commons, while Ontario and Quebec could not dictate policy via the Commons because of the Senate. Policy would have to be inclusive of the entire nation to pass.