The only Canadian senator to hail from the North Shore says Senate reform should still be on the national agenda - even though the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the prime minister's bid to reform it unilaterally.
The high court ruled unanimously last week that creating fixed terms or Senate elections would require the consent of at least seven provinces representing at least half the Canadian population. On the matter of abolishing the Senate, that would take all 10 provinces, the court ruled. Stephen Harper responded by saying Senate reform was "off the table.
"It's always been the case that this is a constitutional issue. We all know that the provinces, since Day 1, have to be involved in any decision that's made about the Senate," said Mobina Jaffer, a lawyer appointed to the red chamber by Jean
Chrétien.
The fact that Harper could not make the reforms he wanted with his strength in the House of Commons alone doesn't mean it should be a dead issue, Jaffer said.
"Obviously there is dissatisfaction with the present way that the Senate is formed so I still believed the discussion needs to take place and I would encourage the prime minister to bring the provinces together and find a constitutional solution that would make Canadians content with their parliament," Jaffer said. "This is not about an individual senator or the senators that are here at this point. This is about what do Canadians want? What kind of parliament do Canadians want?" If the status quo "is supported by virtually no Canadian," as the prime minister suggested, it shouldn't be insurmountable to win the approval of Canada's premiers, Jaffer added.
Lost amid the headlines and scandal of the last year is the good work that the Senate does, Jaffer said while on a break from chairing a meeting of the Senate human rights committee. At the time, they were discussing international child abduction.
"I definitely want reform because it's not fun coming here when people are not happy with your work, no matter how hard you work," she said. "I get a lot of encouragement. Now I would like to find ways of getting my institution respected."
