Canada PoliticsAmid Senate controversies, a Conservative senator calls for referendum on its future
We've heard a lot about the antics of Senators Duffy, Brazeau, Wallin and Harb over the past couple of weeks.
If you're anything like me, you're almost sick of hearing about or from these misbehaving senators.
[ Related: NDP says Wallin's Senate travel bill suggests 2011 campaign work on public dime ]
But Conservative Senator Hugh Segal might be one we want to listen to.
In an interview with PostMedia News, on Thursday, Segal suggested that we have a national referendum about the Senate with a simple question: Do you think the Senate should be abolished yes or no?
"I have always believed that the legitimacy of the place would be enhanced if we had a national referendum where we put the option of abolition to the people of Canada," he said.
"Put the question and organize it [with] the principles of the 1992 [Charlottetown Accord] referendum in which there's a 'yes' side and there's a 'no' side and there's limits as to how it's funded so it's fair and equitable."
Segal says, despite the recent controversies, he would be campaigning for the 'no' side.
"I'd be running against abolition," he said.
"We would have the duty to say here's how it's going to be reformed, here's how it can be improved, here's why it's important."
According to an Angus Reid poll, Segal might be on to something.
According to the survey results, released this week, 73 per cent of respondents support holding a referendum to decide the future of the Senate.
[ Related: David vs. David: Senate Reform ]
Meanwhile, CTV News reports that there are questions about the residency of yet another senator.
Conservative Sen. Dennis Patterson has been representing Nunavut in the upper chamber since 2009, but questions are now being raised over whether he actually lives in the territory.
Provincial land title records show Patterson owns a home in Vancouver and municipal records show that he claimed a homeowner grant from the government of British Columbia, which is only available to those who primarily live in the province.
In an email to CTV, Patterson insisted that he was in compliance with Senate rules and that he lives in a rented apartment in Iqaluit.
As more and more stories like this come-up, you can expect more and more Canadians to jump on the abolition bandwagon.
Bring on that referendum.
(Photo courtesy of The Canadian Press)
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