A SOBER SECOND THOUGHT

Hanns F Skoutajan

“Go Sens, Go!” the popular cheer of the fans of the Ottawa Senators NHL hockey team, has taken on a new political poignancy and relevance. This is especially so as the Supreme Court of Canada is conducting hearings into the nature and purpose of the Red Chamber. Given our present political situation I feel it is incumbent on me to add my voice to those addressing the matter of senate reform or abolition. 

 

The drama of Mike Duffy ( is he now growing spuds in his home province?), Pamela Wallin, (no shy little prairie maid,) and Patrick Brazeau, (is he taking boxing lessons again?) have riveted  the attention of Canadians from coast to coast. Mike Duffy’s oratorical skills have left the public  as well as his senate partners and all politicians  breathless. Since his historical speech, in which he reiterated that, “....and there is more!”  Canadians including our prime minister have sat on the edge of their chairs. What has he up his toga besides a lot of flesh?

The senate has a long history  which in our country may or may not come to an end  in the near future. The word senator comes from the Latin senex which means old man. Old age has often been identifies  with wisdom, though  the present scenario has cast some doubt on this assumption.

In Rome it was considered  that decision making was best performed by the older and experienced leaders. Indeed in many societies, for instance in aboriginal communities, elders are held in high esteem and always consulted. This also holds true for the churches. In  the Roman Catholic Church there are few young cardinals. In Protestant denominations the role of elder is pivotal  in the governance of the church.

In Canada the senate is considered to be a court of sober second thought. Legislation passed by parliament  is sent to the red chamber for careful consideration. The senate, like the House of Commons, has committees where bills are discussed before they are brought before the full chamber for a vote. A majority in the senate can overturn such legislation and send it back to the House. 

The senate is meant to be an independent body although they are appointed by the prime minister who mostly picks them from his own party. Their life-time tenure might assure that they can survive the government that appointed them.

 

As a court of sober second thought this body is of great value to the country. Their independence, however, has been much questioned. Indeed, just as in parliament they sit according to party affiliation and tend to reflect  the policies of him who has appointed them. In this system much of their independence  and wisdom has been put in question. At present the senate is composed of a majority of Conservatives,  of Liberal leftovers from a previous government and the occasional independent. New Democrats, the Bloc and Greens, either by their own choice or circumstance,  have no representatives in the senate.  Harper during his term in power has endeavoured to paint the red chamber blue.

To-day, everyone from the prime minister down  feel  that there is a disfunction in the Upper House, no doubt about it. Stephen Harper has called on the senate to reform itself while New Democrats and others such as the premier of Saskatchewan, a Conservative, call for the abolition of the senate altogether.  However, that may be easier said than done. 

The question that Canadians confront is whether the senate can reform itself . Is the parliamentary ruling party, especially the prime minister, prepared to allow a chamber whose second thoughts may be contrary to his opinions? Can the senate be liberated from party politics and be free and independent? We await the advice of the Supreme Court.

To the west of the capital city, near Kanata, Canada’s first planned city, there is a huge sports complex known as the Canadian Tire Centre. It is the venue for many battles on ice between teams of the National Hockey League and others. Ottawa citizens largely cheer for their home team, The Senators. However, on their jerseys is emblazoned a crest with  a stylized picture of  a Roman centurion, not a senator, as the name would suggest. 

Those Roman legions were a tough force that held the empire together. They were despatched “on the double” to any hotspots on the well known Roman roads. It was those centurions who supervised the execution of Jesus, a convicted rebel, who also guarded his final resting place from grave robbers , albeit unsuccessfully. They were also the force that levelled Jerusalem including its magnificent temple in AD 70 and ended Jewish life in that troublesome country until the present time.

It would seem to me that our hockey team would be better identified  by these battle hardened soldiers than senators in Rome or Ottawa. Roman senators wore long white togas which are totally inappropriate for battles on land or ice, though back-stabbing is not out of the question then or now. 

Thus there are two suggestions that I wish to leave with you.  The first is that they change the name of the hockey team to anything but senators. The second is  to liberate  the senate from party control or if impossible do away with them altogether. Undoubtedly the latter may deprive our system of governance of a source sober second thought although we don’t seem to have much of that now. A fat chance on both accounts. 

SQ  13/11/2013

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