What is the purpose of the Canadian Senate?
The Senate is the Upper House of Canada’s Parliament. Its 105 members are appointed and hold their seats until age 75. The Senate’s purpose is to consider and revise legislation; investigate national issues; and most crucially according to the Constitution, give the regions of Canada an equal voice in Parliament.
What is the role of the Senate?
The Senate has the sole power to confirm those of the President’s appointments that require consent, and to provide advice and consent to ratify treaties. There are, however, two exceptions to this rule: the House must also approve appointments to the Vice Presidency and any treaty that involves foreign trade.
What does Triple E Senate stand for?
The Triple-E Senate (a mnemonic contrived acronym for equal, elected, and effective) is a proposed variation of reform to the current Canadian Senate, calling for senators to be elected to exercise effective powers in numbers equally representative of each province.
How is the Canadian Senate chosen?
Under the Canadian Constitution, the Governor General appoints individuals to the Senate. By convention, Senators are appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister. Candidate submissions are reviewed by the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments, which provides recommendations to the Prime Minister.
Are Canadian senators appointed for life?
Unlike the Members of Parliament in the House of Commons, the 105 senators are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the prime minister. Senators originally held their seats for life; however, under the British North America Act, 1965, members may not sit in the Senate after reaching the age of 75.
What is Justin Trudeau salary?
| Prime Minister of Canada | |
|---|---|
| Formation | July 1, 1867 |
| Deputy | Deputy Prime Minister of Canada |
| Salary | CA$185,800 (2021) |
| Website | pm.gc.ca |
What are three powers unique to the Senate?
In addition, the Senate has exclusive authority to approve–or reject–presidential nominations to executive and judicial offices, and to provide–or withhold–its “advice and consent” to treaties negotiated by the executive. The Senate also has the sole power to try impeachments.
What does the Senate do simple definition?
The United States Senate is the upper house of the United States Congress, which is a small group of elected people who decide the laws of the country. Every U.S. state elects two people to represent them in the US Senate. They must also live in the state they represent at election time.
How many times has the Constitution been amended Canada?
Seven of the eleven amendments passed so far have been of this nature, four being passed by and for Newfoundland and Labrador, one for New Brunswick, one for Prince Edward Island, and one for Quebec. This formula is contained in section 43 of the Constitution Act, 1982.
Can the number of senators be changed?
The party division for each Congress is listed on the web page, “Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present.” The actual number of senators representing a particular party may change during a Congress due to the death or resignation of a senator, or as a consequence of a member changing parties.
Why should senators be elected?
Voters have elected their senators in the privacy of the voting booth since 1913. The framers believed that in electing senators, state legislatures would cement their tie with the national government, which would increase the chances for ratifying the Constitution.
Why should Senators be elected?
What’s the best way to reform the Senate in Canada?
Some options for Senate reform have been floated over the years. In 1987, the Reform Party of Canada (which became the Canadian Alliance, and later merged with the Progressive Conservatives to form today’s Conservative Party) proposeda Triple-E Senatemodel: equal, elected and effective.
When did the Senate come into being in Canada?
And at least two provinces — Ontario and Nova Scotia — figure it’s time to move beyond any talk of Senate reform and abolish the institution all together. The Senate, which came into being through the Constitution Act of 1867, was originally meant to act as a balance to the unchecked democracy of the House of Commons.
Is it possible to abolish the Senate in Canada?
Polls now suggest many Canadians would like to simply abolish it. The Prime Minister has been working on measures to reform the Senate by increments so that it won’t require changes to the constitution. After Meech Lake and Charlottotown, most fear constitutional change has become a dead-end.
Why is the Senate needed to be reformed?
The Senate should be either drastically reformed or abolished. Stephen Harper has cynically and in a highly politically way abused the Senate, and has threatened Senators who might not support his policies, through intimidation. Senate appointments are based on patronage.