Canada’s upper house has adopted a new set of rules that the Liberal government says will further strengthen the independence of the Senate.
The vast majority of senators voted in favor of sweeping changes earlier this month.
But the Conservatives — whose numbers have fallen to just 13 seats — say the government is trying to weaken their position in the Senate and paralyze future Conservative governments.
The new rules give more power to each of the groups recognized by the Senate modernization law passed by Parliament in 2022.
Rather than emulating the dual roles of the government and opposition in the House of Commons, the Senate now gives other groups similar powers and additional speaking time during debates.
Leaders of recognized groups, three of which now outnumber the Conservatives, can now postpone votes on bills and sit on committees to question witnesses.
This means the official opposition will have less time to make speeches and ask questions.
“In the Westminster Parliament, the role of the government is to propose things. The role of the opposition is to challenge the government,” said Conservative Senator Denise Batters.
“What is the role of these other (groups)? »
A necessary evolution
Senator Pierrette Ringuette, a former Liberal MP appointed by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien who now sits on the Independent Senators Group, said nothing had changed for the Conservatives.
“They haven’t lost any power,” she said.
They have the same policy tools — but other groups now have access too, she added.
Senator Scott Tannas, who was a Conservative senator and now leads the Canadian Senators Group, believes the rule changes are a necessary development.
“There will be several groups in the Senate for a long time to come, not just the government and the opposition,” he stressed.
Greater independence from political parties and colleagues in the House of Commons has led to better alignment and productivity, Tannas argued.
“Since 2015, about 27% of government laws have been amended by the Senate, compared to 7% in the previous era,” he said.
Mr. Tannas doesn’t think he’ll use his new powers very often.
The head of the third, newer entity, the Senate Progressive Group, said the rule changes will prevent future conservative governments from rolling back reforms that reshaped the institution.
According to him, it is fairer that large groups have the same capacity to fulfill their functions as senators, declared Senator Pierre Dalphond.
“If there is a moment when (the opposition) wants to postpone a vote, (it) will not hesitate to do so,” he maintained. But if someone else postpones the vote, is that bad? I don’t understand. »
Changes initiated by Trudeau
In 2014, when he was Liberal leader, Justin Trudeau expelled Liberal senators from his caucus
He also instituted a new process for appointing senators. Rather than choosing outright partisans, he approved the composition of an independent advisory committee and followed their advice on appointments — a process that conservatives say nonetheless led to the arrival of progressive-leaning senators.
Only three senators now hold government-related positions: the senior representative, Senator Marc Gold, who forced a vote on the rule changes, his deputy, and a third senator described as a “government liaison.”
Partly because former Prime Minister Stephen Harper left a large number of Senate seats vacant at the end of his term, and partly because of the mandatory retirement age for senators, the number of Conservatives has decreases.
Even if the Conservatives win the federal election and control the House of Commons, it may be a long time before partisan Conservatives gain a majority in the Senate.
And even if they could propose their own changes to the rules, it’s unclear whether the Senate, in its modern makeup, would support that move.