The forum is a response to the federal government’s initiative to reform the Senate through legislation rather than constitutional amendment.

Panelists in Toronto, Calgary, Quebec and Atlantic Canada will explore whether a consensus can be reached as to the purpose of a reformed Canadian Senate. Panels will take place simultaneously in Toronto at York University, and in Calgary through the Canada West Foundation. The locations will be joined by videoconference and available for viewing via webcast.

“We’re trying to spark a national debate on this issue, and it’s important that we do this now, before the government begins to implement its Senate reform agenda announced in the recent Throne Speech,” says event co-organizer Ian Greene, professor in York’s School of Public Policy and Administration, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies.

Featured speakers:

·            Peter Russell, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto, and one of Canada’s leading constitutional experts.

·            Ian Brodie, former chief of staff, Prime Minster’s Office.

·            Roger Gibbins, President and CEO, Canada West Foundation, former head of the University of Calgary’s Political Science Department.

·            Matthew Mendelsohn, founding director of the Mowat Centre for Policy Innovation, University of Toronto, and former senior public servant.

·            Robert Roach, director of the Canada West Foundation’s West in Canada Project.

·            Lisa Young, Professor, Political Science and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, University of Calgary, and a leading expert on political participation.

·            Jennifer Smith, Professor, Department of Political Science, Dalhousie University, and an expert on comparative federalism.

·            André Blais, Professor, Political Science, l’Université de Montréal; leading political scientist and prominent figure in Canadian elections studies.

·            Casey Vander Ploeg, Senior Policy Analyst, Canada West Foundation, who has worked with Stan Waters and Bert Brown, two of Canada’s first “elected” Senators.

·            Lorna Marsden, former senator and former president of York University, past president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women.

·            Dan Hays, Chairman, Partner, Macleod Dixon LLP, and former senator.

·            Les Jacobs, Professor, Department of Political Science; Director, York University Centre for Public Policy & Law, and one of Canada’s leading professors in the field of law and society.

The forum will use a discussion paper published by the Canada West Foundation as a jumping-off point; the paper, A New Senate for a More Democratic Canada, can be viewed here. It details how senate reform might lead to improved policy, better representation of the diversity of Canadians, a balancing of power between parliament and the PMO, and strengthened federalism.

“This is the kind of discussion we need to mobilize public interest in proposals for Senate reform,” says Roger Gibbins, Canada West Foundation President and CEO. “Canadians need to understand why reform is back on the table. Focussing on issues like the appointment process and term limits is not likely to capture the imagination of Canadians. We run a serious risk of becoming prematurely bogged down in the details of reform without first convincing Canadians there is a need for it.”

Greene also hopes that the forum will help generate ideas to advance the quality of the debate around Senate reform.

“The debate has become far too mired in politics. We want to drill down to the issues that matter for Canadians: Why does a reformed Senate make sense, and what purpose would it serve? In the past, debates about Senate reform have tended to occur primarily in Western Canada. We need a national debate if we’re going to get Senate reform right,” Greene says.

The first panel will begin at 10am ET. For a full schedule of panels and topics, and to watch the webcast, click here. The Toronto portion of the forum will be held on York’s Keele Campus, in Stedman Lecture Halls Rm. 120E.

For more information on the Canada West foundation, click here.

Media contact for Toronto forum:
Melissa Hughes, Media Relations, York University, (416) 736-2100 x 22097, mehughes@yorku.ca.

Media contact for Calgary forum:
Grace Kucey, Communication Officer, Canada West Foundation, (403) 700-9535, communication@cwf.ca

York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 200,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 10 Faculties and 28 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.

Canada West Foundation is the only think tank dedicated to being the objective, non-partisan voice for issues of vital concern to western Canadians.  For 40 years, through its research and commentary, the Foundation has contributed to better government decisions and a stronger Canadian economy.

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