New Democrat moves to cut off funding to Senate

OTTAWA – In the midst of a growing debate about the effectiveness of Canada’s Senate, New Democrat MP Pat Martin has moved that the nearly $60,000,000 in Senate program spending included in the budget’s Main Estimates to be voted on tonight be rejected.

“The Senate is not worthy of a great western democracy. Successive governments have made a mockery of what little justification or utility that may have once existed,” said Martin. “It has become simply an expensive extension of the House of Commons – a partisan repository for political partisan operatives.”

Martin’s “Notice of opposition” will force a Senate specific vote in the House of Commons tonight. Martin’s initiative follows in the tradition of his New Democrat predecessors from Winnipeg (North) Centre. Both J.S. Woodsworth and Stanley Knowles moved similar initiatives, removing all non-statutory funding from the upper chamber.

“We might not be able to abolish the Senate without a constitutional amendment, but we can cut off its blood supply,” said Martin. “I’m sure Canadians would agree that this $59,490,350 could be put to better use than to offset the limited value of an unaccountable, unnecessary Senate.”

In the long run, New Democrats remain firmly committed to following other modern democracies as well as Canada’s provinces by abolishing the upper house and continue to call for a pan-Canadian referendum to allow Canadians to provide a mandate on how to proceed.