Premiers push back on senate reform

Ontario and Quebec are entering the debate on senate reform, saying the Prime Minister must obtain the consent of the provinces to reform the institution.

Canadian Press' Joan Bryden discusses the issue in French, in an article carried in la presse on Friday. Quebec - referred to by Bryden as one of the two most important provinces in Canada - wants the federal senate reform measures halted:

"Le gouvernement du Québec ne s'oppose pas à une modernisation du Sénat", a écrit la province dans un mémoire soumis au Comité permanent des affaires juridiques et constitutionnelles du Sénat.

"Mais si nous cherchons à modifier les caractéristiques essentielles de cette institution, la seule avenue possible est de lancer un processus constitutionnel coordonné au niveau fédéral-provincial qui réunit les joueurs constitutionnels, incluant le Québec", a-t-elle ajouté.

It appears that the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has taken a similar position. In a May 9 session of the Senate committee on legal and constitutional affairs, senators make references to a letter or letters received by the committee from Premier Danny Williams:

Senator Milne: We will send a letter to the premiers of the provinces inviting their input on this matter, giving them a cut-off date so we can receive the reply before May 31. In a package along with this letter with suggested wording, we will send along copies of Premier Graham's letter and the legal opinion. We received letters from Premier Danny Williams, and the testimony of four different provinces and the report of the special committee. They have all the information with a request to reply before May 31.

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Senator Hays: For the rest, Premier Williams wrote saying he was not going to appear, that anything involving the Senate should involve the provinces. It was not an opinion; it was just a letter saying that....

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Senator Bryden: Premier Williams was pretty clear in his letter. He made a statement that nothing that would affect provinces should be determined without the provinces' participation. He went on, in either that letter or another, to say do not forget that the Council of the Federation has passed a resolution "... that no changes would be made in federal assets, including the Senate, without the agreement of the provinces."

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-srbp-