B.C., the final participant in a Supreme Court of Canada case to make a submission, joined a majority of provinces in opposing Prime Minister Stephen Harper's bid to impose nine-year term limits on senators and bring an election process to picking members of the scandal-plagued upper chamber.
They say Harper must rely on the 1982 Constitution Act's so-called 7-50 formula, which requires that the federal Parliament and seven provinces making up half of Canada's population must consent to most constitutional changes.
"We do not believe that federal government can act unilaterally to reform the Senate," Attorney General Suzanne Anton said in a statement.
However, B.C. is among a handful of provinces that agrees with Harper's contention that he only needs to rely on the 7-50 formula, rather than obtain consent from all 10 provinces, to abolish the Senate.
B.C.'s position was outlined in a 51-page submission Friday to the Supreme Court of Canada, which has been asked by Harper to consider the constitutionality of various options to either reform or get rid of the unelected but powerful legislative body.
A court hearing is scheduled for mid-November.
"It is B.C.'s position that any significant changes to the Senate should be subject to the general Constitution amendment process and made in consultation with British Columbians," the province said in a statement, referring to a B.C. law requiring a referendum before the legislature will consider constitutional changes.
The Harper government has adopted a "remarkable" and "narrow, formulaic and literal" interpretation of the 1982 Constitution Act's amending formula while trying to "achieve its objective of unilateral reform," B.C. argued in Friday's submission.
Only Saskatchewan and Alberta agreed that Ottawa can unilaterally set up an election system, while the rest agreed with B.C. that the 7-50 formula should apply.
And only Saskatchewan and Ontario are open to Ottawa moving unilaterally on term limits, though Saskatchewan said that limit must be at least 10 years rather than nine.
But B.C. is joining just Alberta and Saskatchewan in saying that the upper chamber can be abolished - if reform attempts fail - using the 1982 Constitution Act's formula that requires the support of just seven provinces making up at least half of Canada's population.
But B.C. is joining just Alberta The remaining provinces say all 10 provinces must consent to abolition.
Premier Christy Clark has previously indicated an openness to Senate elections. Before the May provincial election, the Clark government tabled a bill intended to "generate discussion about Senate reform and, in particular, to show how Senate nominee elections could be conducted in B.C."
However, the Clark government didn't advocate Senate reform during the summer sitting of the B.C. legislature. Industry Minister James Moore, B.C.'s senior representative in Harper's cabinet, said in June that he didn't think Clark was an impediment to Senate reform despite Victoria's onagain, off-again enthusiasm for the election idea.
While B.C. endorsed the so-called 7-50 formula, Victoria made things somewhat more complicated when Anton stated Friday that her government supports 1996 federal legislation that gave five Canadian regions - B.C., the Prairies, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada - vetoes over constitutional changes in areas like Senate reform.
Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: Peter O'Neil
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