The recent stir in the Canadian media about the Upper House has shown us how broken the current form of the Senate is; as Senators are usually appointed by the Prime Minister with the abstract term limit of retiring at age 75 and not elected by the people of Canada, we have seen that our politicians have been following unethetical rules of conduct, and in the case of Senator Patrick Brazeau of Quebec, illegal behaviour.
What's most heart breaking is that there's not a thing we can do about it, as the only way for a Senate seat to be forcibly vacated is if he or she fails to attend the Senate for two consecutive parliamentary sessions, are found guilty of treason, an indictable offence, or any "infamous crime"; are declared bankrupt or insolvent; or cease to be qualified. Rarely is this ever enforced as the illegal acts and unethical rules of conduct many Senators throughout this country's history don't fall under the guidelines on what stands ground for impeachment.
We have already been promised once before on Senate reform by former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Stephen Harper, but despite repeated promises of doing just that, he followed the same old ways of past PM's and did nothing to change the senate for the better. Harper promised the same thing while he was leader of the Canadian Alliance; even proposing a Triple-E senate, which stands for equal, elected, and effective. But of course he never fulfilled his campaign promises, and just followed tradition.
