Thoughts on Making the Senate more Effective For some time, Canadians have been asking for senate reform. Canada has changed significantly from the time the Senate was created in 1867. However, the Senate has not significantly changed over this period of time. The Senate is known as the chamber of sober second thought for legislation passed by the House of Commons and it was given the ...
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Apr 2012
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Apr 2012
The Senate of Canada was set up by the Fathers of Confederation to provide a balance and a check on the House of Commons. The Senate is the Chamber of sober second thought. The Senate has the important role of protecting regional, provincial, territorial and minority interests. Senators examine and amend legislation from the House of Commons. Senators investigate policy ...
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Apr 2012
What are the benefits to Canadians? Much of the work of the Senate is carried out in committees that: Study proposed legislation Investigate policy matters Examine government spending proposals. Special policy studies are carried out on issues that affect Canadians in their daily lives. An example of issues that have been studied include poverty, euthanasia and assisted suicide, ...
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Apr 2012
For some time Canadians have indicated that they want to see the Senate reformed. Increasingly, I believe that Canadians would like the Senate to be free of party politics. The last opportunity to critically consider and analyze the implications of legislation brought forward from the House of Commons, occurs in the Senate. Legislation and public policy affect the daily lives of all ...
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Apr 2012
In most provinces, the Premier of the province submits a list of names to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister may choose from the list. Alberta is a leader in Canada by having Albertans elect “Senators in waiting” during a provincial or municipal election. The list of elected candidates goes to the Prime Minister who makes the final decision and appointment. Prime Minister Harper has ...
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Apr 2012
Learn about the senate election, a short clip on Global ...
St. Albert, Alberta...Senate candidate Len Bracko sees rural sustainability as a key issue that must be addressed in Canada. “Canada’s thousands of rural municipalities face many challenges including provision of adequate public infrastructure – roads, bridges, drinking water, and public amenities,” says Bracko. “There are solutions and the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts ...
St. Albert, Alberta...Senate candidate Len Bracko sees provincial trade barriers as a key issue that must be addressed in Canada. “Provincial trade barriers cost business and Canadians billions/year, and is an issue that has been a concern to me for many years,” says Bracko. As the MLA for St. Albert in 1995, Bracko lobbied the Alberta Government to eliminate trade barriers starting with ...
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Apr 2012
Educating Alberta on the Senate Elections Alberta is currently the only province in the country to elect senate nominees through voting. Alberta's Senatorial Selection Act was originally introduced into law in 1987, allowing voters to elect nominees to fill vacant seats in the Senate. Senate nominee elections have been held in Alberta in 1989, 1998 and 2004. A number of Alberta’s ...
St. Albert, Alberta...Len Bracko, a candidate in the Senate election, sees Canada’s infrastructure debt as a key issue that must be addressed. “Investing in infrastructure helps to stabilize our fragile economy during uncertain economic times and also enables business to prosper,” says Bracko, who is currently a Councillor for the City of St. Albert and Board Member with the Federation of ...
