The Senate and the People of Canada: A Counterintuitive Approach to Reform of the Senate of Canada

The Senate of Canada is the upper house of its parliamentary system. It is an appointed legislative chamber that has been frequently derided for its apparent lack of effective activity, its failure to represent Canada’s federal system, and the perceived lack of accountability among its members. Reform of the Senate persists as one of the most contentious issues in the country. Typical reform proposals begin with the assumption that it must become an elected body that primarily represents Canada’s provinces and can serve as an effective check on the federal government and the House of Commons. This book challenges those assumptions through a thorough analysis that places the Senate within the context of other parliamentary upper houses. It presents a hypothetical constitutional amendment and a proposal for non-constitutional reform that are based upon alternative models derived from that broader context. The book ultimately recommends a Senate that remains unelected but with a more expansive appointment process that more appropriately reflects the optimal role of a parliamentary upper house as well as the diversity, regional aspirations, and political principles of Canadian democracy.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Preface Part I: Background, Theory, and Context Chapter 1: Senatus Publiusque Canadese Chapter 2: A Counterintuitive Approach to Senate Reform in Canada Chapter 3: The Upper House as a Belief Chapter 4: Historical Continuity of the Senate Chapter 5: Assessing Reform—Neo-Institutional and Related Strategies Part II: Application and Idealized Constitutional Reform Chapter 6: Constitutional Amendment, Part I—Legislative Powers Chapter 7: Constitutional Amendment, Part II—Membership, Representation, and Federalism Chapter 8: Constitutional Amendment, Part III—Appointment, Partisanship, Diversity, Democratic Theory Chapter 9: Constitutional Amendment, Part IV—Official Language Protection, Nomination Oversight, Structural Features Part III: Observations and Non-Constitutional Reform Chapter 10: Scandal and Its Constitutional Aftermath Chapter 11: The Senate as It Is, Could Be, and Ought to Be: Non-Constitutional Reform Appendix A: Constitution Act of 1867 in Respect of the Senate of Canada as Amended Appendix B: An Agreement on Practices Relating to the Senate of Canada Bibliography About the Author

About the Author :
James T. McHugh is professor and former chair at the Department of Political Science at the University of Akron and adjunct lecturer of political science at the University of Vermont.

Review :
The Canadian Senate is going through the greatest reform in its history as it transitions from a Chamber where supporters of two political parties have alternated with mixed success at providing the” sober second thought” envisaged by the founders to a Chamber of independent members who consider themselves non-partisan and plan to conduct themselves accordingly. There are still many bugs to work out mainly because this completely new approach to Senate reform has absolutely no theoretical foundation. Professor McHugh’s impressive accomplishment is not only to look at the Senate as it existed before the current reform but to provide an intellectual basis for how the reform can be carried to a successful conclusion. Let us hope that the new generation of independent senators and scholars take the time to read this book. The Senate and the People of Canada is a major work of scholarship that provides an imaginative and provocative set of ideas for Senate reform. This book does yeoman service in moving forward debate over the Canadian Senate in particular and parliamentary upper houses in general. McHugh offers a counterintuitive and fascinating vision of Senate reform, with the modern British House of Lords providing inspiration for change. This book transcends conventional debate over a ‘Triple E’ Senate for Canada. McHugh argues that the upper chamber should remain an appointed body, with an indefinite number of members, a suspensive veto and other traits that make sense in light of historical evolution. This study is essential reading for academics, students and the lay public with interests in Canadian Studies, institutional reform and politics in general. McHugh's work combines a deep knowledge of Canadian and comparative federalism on par with Richard Simeon and a grounding in the Westminster Parliamentary tradition reminiscent of C.E.S. Franks to consider the future of the Canadian Senate. The result is an insightful and provocative proposal that situates itself on the improbable middle ground between Randall White's 1990 Voice of Region and John Peppal's equally trenchant but contrary 2010 book Against Reform. Advocates and opponents of institutional reform in Canada as well as students of political institutions and the treatment of minorities in representative democracy will find this book rich in ideas and insights.