There have been concerns about the makeup of the Senate and its role since Confederation. The complaints nowadays seem to centre around who gets appointed, how representative it is, and their short work weeks. (The Senate did only sit for 64 days in 2011.) If you ever get a chance to sit in on a Senate committee hearing though, you'll be amazed at the level of discussion. It's usually well-researched, intelligent and just plain interesting. It's a very different exercise than House of Commons committee meetings which feel more like political ping-pong.
The latest effort at Senate reform in Canada is a two-pronged bill which sets fixed terms of nine years for senators, and also provides a voluntary "framework" for provinces to select Senate nominees which the prime minister can consider. It's likely that this approach will also spend some time in legal wrangling over constitutionality.
The Senate of CanadaThe Role of Canadian Senators
Salaries of Canadian Senators
Introduction to Parliament
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