REGINA – The Saskatchewan government plans to introduce a motion in the legislature today calling for the abolition of the Senate.
A government release says Premier Brad Wall will table the motion that reads: “This assembly supports the abolition of the Senate of Canada.”
Wall says he believes most Saskatchewan residents agree that the Senate no longer serves any useful purpose and is not worth the $100 million in taxpayer money spent on it each year.
Wall says the motion is not a proposed constitutional amendment, but simply a statement of Saskatchewan’s official position on the Senate.
The motion is expected to pass as it is the official position of the Saskatchewan Party and well as of the Opposition NDP.
Wall had been a proponent of Senate reform, but has said in the past he no longer believes meaningful reform is possible.
“Long before the current scandals which have further marginalized the Senate as a useful institution, many were questioning the relevance of an appointed group of men and women, unelected and unaccountable, potentially standing in the way of an elected House of Commons,” Wall said in the release Wednesday.
“As it has become clear that reform is not possible, abolition has become the preference of Saskatchewan people.”
