- Ontario - 24
- Quebec - 24
- BC and Yukon - 24
- Atlantic - 24
- Prairies, NWT and Nunavut - 24
In Atlantic Canada, this would mean the loss of six senators and means the numbers need to changed for all of the provinces in that region. A fair representation would be:
- Nova Scotia - 9
- New Brunswick - 8
- Newfoundland and Labrador - 5
- Prince Edward Island - 2
On the prairies
- Alberta - 8
- Manitoba - 7
- Saskatchewan - 7
- NWT - 1
- Nunavut - 1
In BC/Yukon the split would be 23 and 1.
In my proposal BC clearly gains the most, but then BC is as much a seperate region as either Ontario or Quebec.
- Economically BC is functionally not related to the rest of Canada.
- It also has a historical narrative that is not connected to the rest of the country.
- It is geographical unique in Canada - it is the only province defined by mountains.
- It has been primarily settled in very different pattern than the rest of the country
- The communities and land use patterns of BC are unique in the country.
- It the furthest province from Ottawa with the largest time zone difference
By any and every measure, BC qualifies to be a region as much as any other region. The only aspect that any region has that BC does not have is Quebec with a majority French speaking.
Five regions is a reasonable split within the nation. It keeps the smaller provinces with more Senators than their population warrants. The big loser in my suggested model is Alberta.
1 comment:
Interesting. While I agree that a reform of the Senate is necessary, I doubt that your considered proposal would carry. I also have ideas for an improved Senate but I won't bore you with them.
I do want to say that I have always found it odd that those on the political left [progressive?] advocate for a strong central government even while they call for the abolition of of one of the central organs. Thanks to our failure to resolve this issue the provinces have become little fiefs with the barons [premiers] being the loudest advocates of abolishing the Senate. Why wouldn't they; without a strong and effective regional house of parliament they get to speak for regional interests.
I want a strong, effective, and balanced Senate as a counterweight to the concentrated population in the House of Commons. I also want it to serve as voice of the regions. The premiers can tend to their knitting.
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