Duffy's Argumentative Essay: Abolishing The Senate

The Senate may have been critical and a good idea when Canada was first developing however, today the Senate has no real purpose. The leaders need reminder that the Constitution does not belong to the fender and provincial governments but to the people of Canada. The Senate does not represent all provinces equally, with BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba having 6 seats each, compared to Ontario and Quebec who have 24 seats each. The Senate has been plagued with multiple embarrassing scandals in recent years. In November 2012 an investigation started with Patrick Brazeau about his living expenses claim and Pamela Wallin’s travel expenses claim. The Senate investigation was then extended to Mac Harbs living expenses in December 2012, then in February 2013, to Mike Duffy’s living expenses claims. It was then later stated that Duffy repaid $90,172 of his living expenses he claimed. However, through the media is was learned that Duffy was given a personal cheque by Nigel Wright, who at the time was Chief of Staff in the Prime Minister’s office. Brazeau,
Meredith who is married improperly used his position in the Senate to lure the teen. Lyse Ricard had concluded Meredith had violated the chambers code ethics. Don Meredith had also been asked to resign however, he rejected calls from fellow senators. Abolishing the Senate may not be the best idea in the long run if we are just looking to save money. The better option would be to have a Senate reform. One popular proposal for a reformed Senate is called the “Triple E” plan, this would include that Senators to be elected in, have an equal number of Senate seats, and making it more effective. The Triple E plan was proposed by the current Prime ministers father Pierre Trudeau, in hopes that it would represent Canadians better that did not live in Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic