A Proposed Balanced Governance for Canada

Senate Accountability, Fairer Representation and Balanced Governance for Canada

Dr. John K. Walker

88 Starwood Rd., Nepean, ON, K2G 1Z5

The old Liberal government is to be commended for the significant reduction in the maximum contributions by individuals to political parties and politician's campaigns. This will help to reduce the effect of lobbying in Parliament, which in the past resulted in such misdemeanors as the suspension of the Competition Act for a bagman's personal ambitions to merge two airlines into a monopoly. Canada's soft immigration and refugee policies also stem from intense ethnic lobbying and are consequently somewhat ineffective and waste billions of dollars each year. These policies should be tightened in the near future. The recently implemented parliamentary review of appointments to crown corporations and merit requirements for some boards is also a significant improvement over the old crony system. Unfortunately, an outstanding candidate for the chair was recently rejected by a misguided parliamentary committee. Prime Minister Harper's accountability act will significantly improve the ministerial, deputy minister and bureaucracy lines of responsibility. This should prevent any further shenanigans such as the old Liberal's sponsorship program. The new legislation to have a four year fixed term for general elections for the House of Commons and limiting the terms of senators to 8 years are also significant improvements in democracy for all citizens of Canada. However, there are still some problems with Canada's parliamentary system

The Federal fuel tax has long been abused with a mere 4% being used for transportation facilities. Fortunately, the present government has promised to refund some of this tax to the cities for roads and public transit. Furthermore, the government has also misused the nearly $30 billion collected annually from the GST for general revenue rather than for the intended debt reduction. Another concern is the questionable legislation of former Finance Minister P. Martin (Bill 78) that permitted the old Liberal government to raid the Civil Service and Armed Forces Pension Plan of ~$30 billion. The government's $47 billion in the EI program is excessive and some has also been misused to support seasonal workers and for non-EI purposes.

The old Mulroney government increased the national debt by several hundred billion dollars and left a deficit of $42 billion. The old Liberal government is to be commended for the elimination of this significant deficit in the 1990s, albeit at a cost to several major provincial and federal programs. The recent Martin and Harper governments have not used the entire surplus for debt repayment as required by legislation but have put some of the money into trusts for short term political objectives. There needs to be continued diligence by politicians in paying down the $486 billion debt which costs nearly $34 billion dollars or ~17 % of every tax dollar to service each year. The nation should be paying down its debt, as suggested recently by the OECD, at the budgeted rate of at least $10 billion (2%) a year, if possible, which would still take 50 years. Canada is a small struggling country and can ill afford such waste during these difficult trading, climate and energy times.

The recent excessive gifts to the provinces for Health Care and the very generous Equalization deals, especially those with Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia by the Martin government are of concern. The ~$11 billion equalization payments to the have not provinces and territories is excessive and so inhibits development and hence their future prospects. A recent AIMS study has found that some of the have not provinces spend twice as much per person than Ontario and much of it is misspent on inflated salaries and the size of the associated public service. This program should be revamped and significantly reduced and should also be made accountable. Corporate and income tax reductions in the poor regions should be used to encourage local development. Any Equalization plan should be first endorsed by the have provinces and some small benefit should be returned to them as is the Canadian neighborly tradition. Political interference with military procurement in the past decade or so has also wasted a few billions of dollars and limited Canada's defense capability.

Canada's $95 billion Health Care system and some of the provincial/territorial debts are increasing at an alarming rate and need to be curtailed. Token user fees for nonessential services would reduce spin and abuse and improve health services and should be implemented ASAP. Canada's Health Care system ranks about 30^th in the world. Japan has the best and most efficient health care system in the world and the 25% user fee is a significant factor in its effectiveness. Sweden also has user fees and the public plan supports private clinics. Tommy Douglas supported a user fee and the IMF recently recommended such an initiative.

Mankind is now about 5000 years into the first phase of the next ice age. However, agriculture and deforestation have provided enough carbon dioxide to keep the atmosphere warm enough to prevent the accumulation of snow in the northern polar cap. The world production of oil can barely keep up with demand and will soon peak and then gradually decease while the cost will escalate when demand exceeds supply. The present rate of consumption (84 million barrels per day) will gradually decrease to perhaps 20 million in 50 years or so as the reserves in the world (~1100 billion barrels plus a few hundred billion more of very heavy sources) are depleted. Obviously consumption must be dramatically reduced so all conservation methods must be considered and implemented ASAP. Otherwise, the high price of oil will adversely affect the farming, transportation, tourism, trade and other industries. The enhanced temperatures due to the increase in greenhouse gas (GHGs) production from the burning of fossil fuels will also reduce agricultural and forest production in this century and the effects of erratic weather will cost billions. The excessive GHGs are also acidifying the oceans and killing the coral and plankton. The enhanced melting of the polar glaciers will soon cause flooding in many coastal regions and the open polar water absorbs radiation and thereby enhances global warming. Mankind must reduce the burning of fossil fuels ASAP to mitigate global warming. Mankind must also conserve as much as possible our oil, gas and coal resources so some will be available for use in the latter part of the century and the next for habitation, transportation and for greenhouse gas production to further delay the onset of the ice age in the next century. Carbon dioxide should be scrubbed from all thermal power and heating plants and stored in underground heavy oil reservoirs to help with their production otherwise in caves and porous geological formations. It could then be released in the next century to enhance the GHGs and thereby help to delay the onset of the next ice age (see Scientific American, March and July, 2005 and Sept 2006). Both the imminent warming and the impending ice age will significantly degrade Canada's economy. Steps should be taken to mitigate these major threats to the country and in particular the northern hinterland.

There is increasing concern that the U.S. massive and growing debt and the large current account and trade deficits may soon trigger a global financial crisis. Such a crisis may be alleviated by a falling U.S. dollar but either would hit Canada hard as ~80% of our trade is with the U.S.

Finally, the oncoming demographic challenge of an aging population and a shrinking workforce will limit tax revenue for all three levels of government for the next several decades so wise and frugal management is required at all levels.

The future prospect for prosperity in most parts of Canada is not good and steps should be taken to address each of the above demons. Accountable members of the Senate could investigate these long term problems more effectively than the present members and those in the highly polarized House of Commons.

The abuses of power and precious tax dollars, which are collected under duress, stem partly from the dominance of Parliament by one house, the rigid party discipline and the power of the PMO. While the PMO is being changed and more free votes are being permitted still more should be done to obtain a truly democratic system. Furthermore the Canadian Parliament's integrity is limited because senators are mainly patronage appointments. This must change so they are accountable and can participate fully and thus provide balance and better checks within Parliament and in the PMO. Such a system would mitigate those occasional abuses of power and associated vast sums of money and thereby build a greater, stronger and more democratic Parliament for all Canadians.

It has long been recognized that checks and balances are necessary in a system of government to ensure that individual power is not abused. A Parliament to which the executive government, the ministry, is responsible for its actions is one such check. Parliament is the law-making assembly where the opinions, interests and beliefs of the people are represented. It is the foundation upon which modern democracy is built. It is Parliament's role to ensure that government is answerable to the governed.

Generally in a federal parliament, the opportunities for the House of Commons to operate as an effective check on government are significantly reduced because the party or coalition of parties forming the government usually holds a majority of its seats. Then through extremely rigid voting discipline, it controls the House. However, the development of the Australian system of responsible government, under which the federal government is responsible to the Senate as well as the House of Representatives, has ensured that the federal Parliament, through one of its Houses, is able to perform its role as a check on government. (See the Australian Government Information link.)

The Australian Senate fulfills its role as a check on government by scrutinizing bills, delegated legislation, government administration, and government policy in general. It does this by way of procedures utilized in the Senate chamber itself and through the operation of the Senate committee system. As a result of this check on the government by the Senate, Australia is nearly debt free and there is little misuse of power, abuse of special taxes or other funds. Hence each tax dollar is utilized for its intended purpose and little is wasted such as that for servicing large debts.

In Canada, the appointment of senators by the Prime Minister, political ties of some members and reluctance of these unelected members to use their power greatly handicaps the Senate to act as a check on the government. This inaction of the senators significantly degrades Canada's Parliament and democracy in Canada.

Prime Minister Harper has indicated he will support Senate reform (accountability) even if the provinces do not cooperate. The senators should of course be elected and they should represent all the different parts of a province. The present at large representation for each province permits the senators to be somewhat unaccountable and hence they are sometimes aloof and uncommunicative if not invisible. Furthermore, it would be difficult for candidates to campaign in the larger provinces such as Ontario and Quebec. The voter list may well exceed 100 or more candidates in these provinces and it would take dedicated citizens some time to sort out the merits of the 24 candidates he or she would vote for in an election. Thus senators should be elected by ridings so that they are more accountable and a citizen can then readily identify his or her senator for communication purposes. With a 3:1 ratio of members of the House Commons to the Senate, the chief electoral officer and the provincial Elections Canada commissions should generally assemble three contiguous ridings of the Commons for each Senate riding in each province. The standing members should select their ridings and then the vacant Senate ridings should become available for national elections or for by-elections. The Prime Minister would then recommend to the Governor General the winner of the seat(s) to the Senate. This would not require any constitutional amendments and could be a first step for a more accountable and effective Senate. However there are other factors that should be considered for fair representation and governance for Canada.

The senators are at the top of the political ladder and we might ask a little more of them. They should sit for two terms of government (~8 years), unless a term is less than a year. Senators should be at least 35 years of age rather than 30, of sound character and have at least a post secondary education diploma/degree or a demonstrated level of knowledge in two fields of endeavor. A younger age would be a disadvantage to women who generally bear most of the work of raising children. They should also have some land in the riding, assets of say $50,000 and at least 150 sponsors rather than the 100 for candidates for the House of Commons. Furthermore, the country needs more prosperous families as the reproduction rate is now only 1.5 children per woman. Also, recent research has found that women who do not have sex are often depressed and men generally need a woman otherwise they sometimes become slovenly and indifferent to the lives of others. Hence for the well being of women, families and of the country, the senators should be family oriented as they are the leaders of their community and often represent the country abroad.

The senators not only represent the people of their riding but also the province and as such are the go-between for the provinces and Parliament. Hence they should be in contact with the provincial agenda and consequently should be somewhat apolitical. On the other hand the provincial governments also do not have good checks and some have gone astray (have large debts). Consequently the senators should be available for consultation at the provincial level and bring forward concerns of the Federal Parliament and hence the dialog should flow both ways. The larger provinces should consider a Senate so that a more rigorous parliament could restrain the occasional irrational periods of some legislatures.

There are presently 9 vacant seats in the Senate. An elected senator could have larger remuneration than appointed ones as he/she has a shorter term and more responsibility. More senators may want to retire and run for the more prestigious elected seats in the next election or by-election as they have generous pensions. It is suggested that the Senate 8 year term be separated by two years from a House of Commons term so that the senator’s platforms will not be confused with those of the members of the House of Commons. However, the by-elections for the Senate and the House of Commons could be held at the same time. This could be every non-election year in October. Hence the first election for the Senate should be on the third Monday of October, 2007. There would probably be 12 or so seats available in late 2007 for the first election. The next election for these new senators would be in October, 2015 when about 50 seats would be available for the election. There should also be at least a 50 day campaign period (senators have large ridings and some are generally older and might not be able to run very fast) rather than the 36 days for a Commons election. With this number of elected senators, it would make a good start for a more effective Senate for Canada. The Senate election in 2015 would be after the census when the new ridings for the Senate would have been established. Hopefully, by perhaps 2025, most of the seats would be occupied by elected senators. The Canadian Senate would then have a strong mandate and hence a check on parliament and thus the Federal Parliament would be nearly balanced. The office of the Auditor General should certainly not be the check on Parliament as it seemingly does at present. However, the Auditor General should audit the PMO on a regular basis.

Steps should be taken over the next two decades to replace the appointed senators as they retire with elected ones. A Senate election should be arranged in late October 2007 for the 12 or more available seats at that time. This would be a good start for a more accountable Senate and would greatly help to mitigate the alienation and cynicism in the West (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia) and in Quebec and the Maritimes. It would also bring more interest and respect for Canada's Federal Parliament.

There is a large disparity in the representation of Senators across Canada because of historical ties and hence it is impossible to have fair representation. For instance, at most two Commons and one Senate seat should represent P.E.I. with a population of only 137,000. However, it is greatly over represented with 4 seats for the House of Commons plus 4 additional ones for the Senate. The Alberta Senate Resolution, which proposes 6 Senate seats for each province, would result in 12 parliamentarians for P.E.I. The Islanders would then have a Senate representative about 14 times that of the average Canadian. Such a representation system would be even more grossly unfair than the present system. P.E.I. now has a fixed link to the main land and can no longer be described as a remote island. Similarly, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan are now all prosperous provinces but over represented in the Senate and the House of Commons because of historic ties.

This disparity and the alienation in the Maritimes and that in the West should be addressed by gradually balancing the number of Senate representatives with those of the Ontario and Quebec core region by populations. This is just a minor variation on the original distribution but corrects some inconsistencies introduced in the past. It is still appropriate as the populations of the two blocks are expected to be comparable for at least several decades. The redistribution of seats in the Senate and the transition to elected members should be done in stages over the next two decades so that the present senators can retire gracefully. This balanced Senate will ensure that one sub region does not dominate parliament, which in the past has caused considerable frustration, cynicism and alienation in the outer regions of Canada. (E.g. see Canada West Foundation and Citizens Centre for Freedom and Democracy) Furthermore, the 4-8 special senate seats should be gradually reduced to 5 with one representative (nominee) for each of the four sub regions and one for the First Nations.

The historic and other disparities of the representation of parliamentarians should be removed with a meeting of the Prime Minister and Premiers this fall, if possible, and replaced with a more equitable and quasi-balanced representation system. The election of senators and changes in representation must be consented to by seven provinces with 50% of the population of the country before it can be tabled in Parliament and endorsed by the House of Commons and the Senate. An elected Senate will make Parliament more accountable and hence more efficient and hence save money. Thus, most wise premiers will support an elected Senate so it may be possible to get such an agreement on some aspects of Senate reform and it should be explored ASAP.

The House of Commons has a similar disparity in the distribution of its seats stemming from historical ties and hence precludes developing a balanced and fair system of representation in this House. It is important that there be a fair distribution of seats across the country to reduce dominance on the political scene by one region and cynicism and alienation by the voters in the other regions. The historic ties should eventually be replaced with fairer representation and balance so that one sub region or province is not unduly over represented. Some of the disparity should be addressed; if possible, for the present decade with each of the over represented provinces being reduced by one of their extra (grand fathered) elected representatives. At least P.E.I. should transfer one Senate seat (and thereby a House of Commons seat) to the west (Alberta) and Quebec should transfer one to Ontario. This could be done as a 'thank you' for the generous Equalization funding from these provinces for the past several years. However, some remuneration by the Federal Government might help to expedite the transfer. It is important that there be a fair or quasi-balanced distribution of the seats in the House of Commons and that a balanced distribution with fair representation in the Senate eventually be established. Because the House of Commons has more seats in the core region than in the outer region the Senate should eventually have more in the outer region to counterbalance the House of Commons distribution. A proposed gradual transition but with a nominal distribution of senators for each decade is shown in the tables below.

For the next decade (2004-2013) the number of seats for the House of Commons and the Senate should work towards the following provisional distribution:

1. Assign one seat each to Nunavut, the Northwest Territory and the Yukon Territory for both houses.

2. Use 279 seats and population of provinces (2001) to establish the national quotient for 2004 for the House of Commons (29 914 315 ÷ 279 = 107 220). See tables.

3. Add seats to provinces pursuant to "senatorial clause" guarantee in the Constitution and "grandfather clause" (based on 33^rd Parliament) but transfer one seat from P.E.I. to the West and one from Quebec to Ontario. The Senate should eventually be balanced with 50 seats for the core provinces of Quebec and Ontario and 50 for the outer provinces of Canada as in the last table but with fair representation.

2005 - 2014

Province/Territory	Population	Result	MPs (adjusted)	Senators (adjusted)
Newfoundland & Lab.	512,930	5	6	3
Prince Edward Is.	135,294	1	2	2
Nova Scotia	908,007	8	10	4
New Brunswick	729,498	7	9	4
Quebec	7,237,479	68	74	23
Ontario	11,410,046	106	106	26
Manitoba	1,119,583	10	13	5
Saskatchewan	978,933	9	13	4
Alberta	2,974,807	28	28	11
British Columbia	3,907,738	36	36	15
Northwest Terr.	37,360	1	1	1
Nunavut	26,745	1	1	1
Yukon Territory	28,674	1	1	1
Appointed senators				7
Total	30,007,094	281	301	108

The distributions of seats for the 2014-2023 transition period should be about 2/3 of the way to the 2024-2033 final distribution.

2014-2023

Province/Territory	Population	Result	MPs (adjusted)	Senators (adjusted)
Newfoundland +Lab.	512,930	5	6	3
Prince Edward Is.	135,294	1	2	1
Nova Scotia	908,007	8	10	4
New Brunswick	729,498	7	9	4
Quebec	7,237,479	68	69	21
Ontario	11,410,046	106	105	29
Manitoba	1,119,583	10	12	4
Saskatchewan	978,933	9	11	4
Alberta	2,974,807	28	32	10
British Columbia	3,907,738	36	42	14
Northwest Terr.	37,360	1	1	1
Nunavut	26,745	1	1	1
Yukon Territory	28,674	1	1	1
Appointed senators				6
Total	30,007,094	281	301	106

Use 297 seats and population of provinces to establish national quotient for 2024 for the House of Commons (For example: 29,914 315 ÷ 297 = 100,721) for the normal distribution.

For a fair or quasi balanced House of Commons assign 165 seats to Ontario and Quebec which provides a quotient of 18,647 525 ÷165 = 113,015. The outer provinces and territories then have 135 seats which provides a quotient of 10,805,790 ÷135 = 80043.

The quotient for the core (Ontario and Quebec) Senate seats is 372,950 and that for the outer provinces is 239,719.

The distributions of seats for the 2014-2023 transition period should be about 2/3 of the way to the 2024-2033 final distribution.

Use 297 seats and population of provinces to establish national quotient for 2024 for the House of Commons (For example: 29,914 315 ÷ 297 = 100,721) for the normal distribution.

The quotient for the core (Ontario and Quebec) Senate seats is 372,950 and that for the outer provinces is 239,719.

2024-2033

Province/Territory	Population	Normal result	MPs (adjusted)	Senators (adjusted)
Newfoundland +Lab.	512,930	5	6	2
Prince Edward Is.	135,294	1	2	1
Nova Scotia	908,007	8	11	4
New Brunswick	729,498	7	9	4
Quebec	7,237,479	68	64	21
Ontario	11,410,046	106	101	29
Manitoba	1,119,583	10	14	5
Saskatchewan	978,933	9	12	5
Alberta	2,974,807	28	36	11
British Columbia	3,907,738	36	47	15
Northwest Territories	37,360	1	1	1
Nunavut	26,745	1	1	1
Yukon Territory	28,674	1	1	1
Appointed senators				5
Total	30,007,094	281	305	105

The 'senatorial clause' should be removed from the Constitution and also the "grandfather clause" by the next census in 2011 and replaced by the fair representation (quasi-balanced) for the House of Commons and the balanced concept for the Senate. Thus a more fair distribution of seats can be arranged for a new and more democratic Canada. A parliamentary committee should review both the representation and governance systems after each of the census to ensure a fair and responsible governance system for Canada.

A recent study (See Scientific America, March, 2004.) has found that the fairest way of holding elections when there are more than two candidates is for the voters to rank them. This method gives the truest way of reflecting the interest of the voters and hence should be used for electing Senate members where there may be a number of independent candidates with limited resources. It should also be used for electing Commons members as it helps to separate out two very similar candidates. The New Zealand experience of electing some members based on the popular vote has found them to be somewhat slovenly and, of course, of limited accountability.

There should not be any parliamentarians appointed from an ad hoc list based on a popular vote of parties as it is an undemocratic system and they will not be accountable. The single transferable ballot system proposed in B.C. is very complex and also an unaccountable system and hence untenable. Democracy is rule by an elected and hence accountable representation system with a majority not by an unaccountable system of minority parties. Such non-responsible members could harasses the house and cause it to become dysfunctional. New Zealand has found that their proportional representation members are somewhat indifferent and that only some are responsible.

The Cabinet and the standing committees of Parliament should also be balanced, if possible, in order to mitigate one sub region of the country dominating the executive of the government. The chair and vice chair should be elected from the parliamentarians and there should be an even number of members from the government and the opposition on each committee, if possible. The chair and vice chair should also be from opposite regions, if possible. There should also be equal representation from each of the four sub regions, if possible, on the committees. These positions should not be subject to the whims of the whips but should be held for the duration of the parliamentary session. Secretaries for the various ministries should come from the opposite sub region as that of the minister. Elected senators should be able to sit in the cabinet, on all standing committees and on the boards of crown corporations to help meet the balance criteria and to help the Senate meet its mandate as a check on parliament and its' agencies. There should probably be a senator associated with the PMO, CRA, the PCO and possibly the office of the Governor General to mitigate occasional tendencies of going astray. Such procedures will help the Senate fill its main role as a check on parliament.

The House of Commons has been inflated over the last few decades and could be reduced with a more effective Senate. Australia has set a ratio of 2:1 for the House of Representatives to the Senate. This is reasonable and the Commons should probably be downsized by at least 10 % following each of the next three censuses. This would save about $50 million each time as members now have significant staff, remuneration and pensions.

The present representation system by the Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada is inconsistent with the natural distribution in Canada. This system has 3 judges for Quebec and 3 for Ontario while only 2 for the West and one for the Maritimes. It should be changed to only 5 for the two core provinces but with 2 for the West and one for the Maritimes and one for the three Territories and the First Nations. The Justice for the latter group should be an aboriginal if possible.

The leader of the Senate should be elected solely by members of the Senate by ballot and using the ranking method if there are more than two candidates. He/she should remain leader for the duration of a senate term. The leader of the Senate should be present at all First Ministers meetings to provide mediation and advice on historical and Constitutional matters. The role of the Governor General might be downsized and the leader of the Senate should probably fill this position so there is balance with the House of Commons and its leader. Eventually Canada should become independent with a president filling this position but with special heritage relations with the UK, France, Ireland the USA and China. This could be done by simply not proclaiming any successor to the Queen, in relation to Canada, when she resigns.

Canada will assuredly move ahead with a strong accountable Senate that can significantly improve the integrity and effectiveness (backbone) of parliament. They could also study some of the long term economic and natural forces that will soon dominate the country. There must be fairness in representation of parliamentarians and of the benefits of the federation to all regions. Such an elected and accountable representation and governance system will be much more effective. This process should start with the election of senators in October, 2007 if at all possible. Canada will be stronger and most Canadians will eventually be wealthier and possibly even proud of their Parliament with this modest and inexpensive evolution of the Federal system of representation and governance.