Quote:
Originally Posted by Bobblehead
As I said in the beginning, I like the idea of them as "sober second thought". An entity that doesn't need to curry favour with any specific group, an entity that can vote with it's conscience and not be cajoled by a party whip or leader; essentially an entity that can review pending legislation without playing "politics" (in the dirtiest sense of the word), which can turn into a popularity contest or name recognition contest. Strong charisma should not be a requirement for a Senator.
I don't want them as elected simply because we already have an elected representation. Electing them would (in my opinion) foster the worst of the political system, increase the possibility of gridlock, and mean we would see even more campaigning for elections; elections that the general public is already becoming apathetic towards.
Municipal, Provincial and Federal are all the levels of government I think we need.
I have wondered about some sort of a compromise; for example, Alberta is currently allocated 6 Senators, allow 3 of them to be appointed by the PM as is currently done (via the governor general), and allow AB to designate the other 3 in any manner they wish, perhaps by election or Premier's decision. Then each region can decide on how they specifically wish to appoint their Senate representation, it moves a share of the power to the regions and still allows Federal input into a Federal institution. That's just an idea to mull over, I'm sure many on both sides of the issue would hate it, and maybe that's the best way to tell if it is fair.
But if the choice between an elected Senate and no Senate came down to me, I would bid the Senate goodbye.
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Sober second thought? Don't we technically still have the governor general who provides that anyways?
Sorry, unless these government officals are elected, there is absolutely no way the can garentee the provision you've stated.