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Re Senate Reform Analysis

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Title: The Political and Constitutional Implications of re Senate Reform, 2014 SCC 32:
Word Count: 1500
Referencing: MLA
Date: October 19, 2015 Introduction:
In re Senate Reform the primary issue that was present was whether it is possible for the government to make amendments in regards to the Senate function (para 1). Six questions were sent to the Supreme Court to consider, which are:
(1) Whether it is in the power of the legislature to change the time limits set out in the Constitution Act 1867?
(2) Whether it is in the power of the legislature to “enact legislation that provides a means of consulting the population of each province and territory as to its preferences for potential nominees for appointment to the Senate”? (re Senate …show more content…

(re Senate Reform, para 4)
(5) Whether it is possible to abolish the Senate through amendments to the Constitution by one of three methods (i.e. inserting provisions; amending/repealing some or all provisions concerning the Senate; and/or abolishing the powers of the Senate and all representations of the Provinces? (re Senate Reform, para 5)
(6) Whether unanimous consent is sufficient to abolish the Senate when the amending procedure is not?
These six questions are important to the structure of politics, because the Senate is an important check and balance to the legislature in Canada (and forms an important source of Provincial representation). This means that if the legislature can abolish of change the nature of the Senate in such a way that there is an imbalance in the check and balances of the Canadian political system then this power is weak and without effect. Thus, this paper will examine the response of the Supreme Court to these questions, in order to determine how it interprets the power of the legislature and the role of the Senate within Canadian politics. It will do this by examining the primary text alone and any case law examined by the Supreme Court in this …show more content…

29 of the Constitution Act 1867. This is not permissible under s. 42 of the Constitution Act 1867 to make the changes to the tenure. The Supreme Court rejected the submission of the government that there should be a broad interpretation of the rights on senatorial amendment under s. 44 of the Constitutional Act 1867 (re Senate Reform, para 75). Rather, the Supreme Court identifies that the Constitution requires a narrow interpretation, which means that it is not possible to change Senatorial Tenure through the operation of s. 44. The rationale for this is that the role of the Senate is essential to protecting the interests of the Provinces (re Senate Reform, para 75). Thus, the only way for there to be amendments to tenure is if the Provinces agreed with the legislature (re Senate Reform, para 77). This highlights that the Senate is an important forum of representation for the Provinces, which is why having a strong tenure is important (unless the Provinces agree to a weakened

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