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David McLaughlin has been a Conservative chief of staff. He was deputy minister for New Brunswick's Commission on Legislative Democracy

In politics, if you are explaining, you are losing. Prime Minister Stephen Harper paid heed to that maxim by announcing recently that he would appoint no more senators. No more striving to explain the senatorial misdeeds of a motley few of Conservative blue. Not with an election to win – and a close one, at that. The trials of at least one and tribulations of many honourable senators were to be boxed, filed and forgotten by an increasingly querulous electorate.

With no time to lose, Mr. Harper turned decades of Conservative, Reform and Progressive Conservative party policy on its head. No longer would the Conservative Party seek to reform Canada's Senate to create a more regionally representative body. Instead, it would opt for abolition by stealth, with senators resigning, dying or terminating until someone – anyone – cared or noticed. By which time it would be too late to do either.

Offering up no reform proposals of his own, Mr. Harper has condemned the Senate to a slow, lingering slide to irrelevance. By 2030 at the latest – 15 years hence – the Senate would lose quorum and formally cease to be able to function. In truth, it would have effectively folded its "sober second thought" tent well before that.

The Prime Minister cites the Supreme Court as his writ of execution. The court has ruled that the provinces must agree unanimously to abolish the Senate. It is now Mr. Harper's contention that when it comes to the constitutional disposition of the Senate, the federal government and prime minister of Canada are very much the junior partner behind the provinces and premiers. They will propose and he, presumably, will dispose. It is like the Clarity Act, but in reverse; the measure Mr. Harper once proposed as a rookie Reform MP.

There is much to be said – none of it complimentary – of a national party willing to swallow its own political pedigree to counter its own political weakness. In reality, it is aping the historic willful nonsense of the NDP and the current callow indifference of the Liberals. The Senate is politically toxic these days, with neither defenders nor persuaders for a different path. Best to blame if you cannot avoid.

If leaders or parties will not take on the issue of reform, who will? For the responsible answer to "what to do with the Senate" is not abolish or ignore it, but fix it. Since plainly it cannot come from without, it must come from within.

Short of a provincial-led initiative to embark upon a protracted effort at forging a consensus reform position, the only viable path forward is for senators themselves to show the possibilities that emerge from a reformed Senate.

Here's three ways they can start.

First, fix the expense-entitlement culture and process that took us to this point. Creating a separate arbitration process over disputed expenses misses the broader point made by the Auditor-General's examination. Embrace the outcome and change the "honour" system that led to lax standards and creeping abuse by appointing an independent watchdog to review the senators' spending. Senators must understand that the rules of the game have changed, forever. However unfair the audit's results might seem, today's damage pales against tomorrow's implications.

Second, renounce party affiliations by all senators – across the board. An independent Senate is the next best thing to an elected Senate. With no election available to confer legitimacy, an independent status free from party affiliation is the only alternative. The notion is not far-fetched. Already, the Liberals have taken an initial step this way by evicting senators from their party caucus. For their part, the Conservatives have removed the government leader in the Senate from cabinet status.

Third, revert to the Senate's undisputed area of strength: solid, thoughtful research and recommendations on thorny public policy issues. Draw on the unique life and professional expertise of senators to consider topics unfettered by partisan politics. Write reports of consequence that need to be heard. Help to create the political space for new ideas and solutions to be considered in an increasingly polarized political process. A Senate committee system unhindered by partisan rancour offering a platform to experts and Canadians from across the country would soon regain institutional respect.

The Prime Minister of Canada has given up on Senate reform, while the provinces and premiers cannot lead Senate reform. Only one other path makes sense. It is time senators took their existence more seriously than their livelihoods.

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