The Conservative government took the first steps towards democratic reform this week with the introduction of legislation in the House of Commons that would set fixed election dates every four year and limit the terms of new Senators.
Rob Nicholson, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic reform, introduced Bill C - 16 on Tuesday. It would set Monday, October 19, 2009 as the date for the first fixed election, unless the Conservative minority is brought down before that time. Further elections could be held on the third Monday of October every four years.
The Conservatives had campaigned during the last election on a promise to make elections timing more fair–referring to the ability of governments to set election dates to their own political advantage – and to reform a Senate which many believe to be ineffective and obsolete.
"Fixed election dates stop leaders from trying to manipulate the calendar strictly for partisan political advantage," said Harper during a speech in Victoria last week.
Unlike many democratic nations and some provinces with set election dates, Canadian governments have a mandate of up to five years, but can call an election before that time is up. In 2000 for example, Jean Chrétien came under fire for calling a snap election well before his mandate was through, capitalizing on the disarray of the newly-formed Canadian Alliance Party, which was then the official opposition.
But although the fixed election dates would generally benefit opposition parties, some opposition MPs are not convinced. During Question period this week, Liberal leader Bill Graham said the Conservatives were merely creating an "illusion" of electoral reform.
"If this act were enacted, the Prime Minister could go to the Governor General at any time and still ask for a snap election."
He asked why the legislation does not preclude the Prime Minister from seeking an early election. Harper declared that Conservatives will not be seeking an early election and reminded the House that Liberal provincial governments brought similar legislation to British Columbia and Ontario.
Currently, British Columbia, Newfoundland, Labrador and Ontario have legislated fixed election dates. Other provinces may follow suit in the future.
NDP leader Jack Layton has said the bill to fix election dates doesn't go far enough to reform Canada's electoral system, and called for an end to the current 'first past the post' system, in which only the party with the most votes wins representation in a riding.
"The fixed election date is a good idea as long as it is part of proportional representation, really fixing the system," said Layton during question period in the House.
Bill S – 4 was also introduced to Senate this week, which would limit the tenure of new Senators to eight years. This will not affect the tenure of existing Senators who retire at age seventy five. This is to ensure that "the Senate is refreshed with new perspectives and ideas on a regular basis," said Senator Marjory LeBreton, leader of the government in the Senate, in a press release.
"A 21st-century legislature should not remain dominated by appointees who can sit for decades without a democratic mandate and with the ability to thwart the elected government," Said Harper as he announced plans for the democratic reforms last week.
But building consensus around Senatorial reforms is sure to be no easy task. The Premiers of Ontario, British Columbia and Manitoba, along with the federal NDP, have called for the outright abolition of Senate, which is often seen as little more than a rubber-stamping organization with appointed members who sit for decades and are not accountable to the electorate.
Alberta premier Ralph Klein supports elected Senators—Albertans have been electing their desired representatives to Senate since 1989, but only one has ever been appointed by the federal government—and, true to his roots in the old Reform Party, Stephen Harper says that an elected senate is a long-term goal of his government, which he would like to see in place by the next federal election.
The Reform Party of old had also called for equal representation of all provinces in Senate, while others believe in representation by population as a form of Senatorial reform. Seats in Senate are not distributed by population, but are instead distributed by region. Ontario, for example, has 24 seats and a population of roughly 12 million. New Brunswick has 10 seats and a population of less than a million. Redistributing seats requires the approval of the provinces, many of which would likely oppose such reforms to avoid losing their favourable position in Senate.
Both the Bills will go to second reading on Thursday and may be referred to Parliamentary committees for further debate.