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Ottawa

A Senate if we must, but must we have a Senate?

By Aaron Wherry

It is obviously noteworthy that the Canadian public largely supports Stephen Harper’s proposed reforms to the Senate, but when the options are put side-by-side, the Canadian public is still relatively split.

Which of these statements comes closest to your own point of view?

Canada does not need a Senate, all legislation should be reviewed and authorized by the House of Commons 36%
Canada needs a Senate, but Canadians should be allowed to take part in the process to choose senators 40%
Canada needs a Senate, and the current guidelines that call for appointed senators should not be modified 5%
Not sure 19%

For that matter, as many Canadians support Stephen Harper’s calls for term limits and elections (70% and 72%) as support Jack Layton’s call for a national referendum (71%).