Senate

Senate: Moreover, public disgust with the scandal-plagued Red Chamber and its cosseted political appointees is at Ford-like levels thanks to the antics of a few mavericks. Roughly half of Canadians would be happy to see the place abolished, according to the latest poll. The rest pin frail hopes on reform. Many would like to see Senators elected, somehow, and for limited terms rather than to age 75, according to The Star. To all this, some will be tempted to shrug. But that would be a mistake. For all its 19th-century flaws, the Senate is part of Confederations covenant. It makes and reviews laws that directly affect all of us, and speaks for the regions and minorities. The framers of Canadas Constitution in 1867 and 1982 did not envisage Parliament, meaning the House of Commons and the Senate, being changed at the whim of any given federal government. They set a high bar to change, as the Quebec Court of Appeal recently reminded us and In a week when Toronto Mayor Rob Fords coarse buffoonery made this city an international punch line, the water coolers werent exactly abuzz over the Supreme Courts arid three-day hearings on Senate reform. Drunken crack smoking in high places will trump constitutional nitpicking any day. These are the issues the Supreme Court will decide in a reference case on just how far Prime Minister Stephen Harpers impatient Conservative government can legally go, tinkering with the way Senators are chosen, the property qualifications they need and how long they can serve. As well, the high court has been asked to rule on just how much provincial approval there needs to be, for abolition. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.