Senate Reform

April 19, 2010

Ottawa Journal (April 19 – April 23, 2010)
David Tilson, M.P. (Dufferin-Caledon)


Senate reform has been and continues to be a priority for our Government. We are keeping our commitment to bring change to the upper chamber to ensure it is more democratic, effective, and accountable. On March 29th, our Government took another step forward in realizing this goal by introducing term limits for senators.
Senators were originally appointed to the Senate “for Life,” but that was changed unilaterally by Parliament through an amendment to Section 29 of the Constitution Act, 1867 (via the Constitution Act, 1965) that created the current mandatory retirement provision for senators attaining the age of 75 years. Since 1965, when that change was made, the average term of senators is approximately 9.25 years.

Currently, senators can theoretically serve a term of 45 years if they are appointed at the minimum age of 30 years and serve until the retirement age of 75 years. This has raised concerns that the effectiveness and legitimacy of the Senate has suffered because of the fact that senators do not have any democratic mandate from Canadians.

The Senate Term Limits bill aims to address this concern by limiting Senate terms to one term of eight years, which is suitable to allow senators to gain the experience necessary to fulfill the Senate’s valuable role in legislative review and investigation, while at the same time, ensuring the modernization of the Senate to reflect 21st century democracy. Furthermore, these changes offer the Senate to be regularly refreshed with new perspectives and ideas.
The Bill’s eight-year term limit will apply to all senators appointed after the October 2008 general election, including the five recently appointed senators. The term limit would begin once the bill receives Royal Assent.

Our Government believes that the passage of this legislation will create a solid basis for further and more comprehensive reform in the Senate, which is the ultimate goal. It is what Canadians have asked for and will bring greater democratic legitimacy to this long-standing and important institution.