Senator Marjory LeBreton talks to media in Senate Foyer on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Thursday, May 9, 2013 regarding an audit on Senators housing expensesSean Kilpatric
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It is perhaps not surprising that Stephen Harper is contemplating a cabinet devoid of senators.
It was under Liberal prime minister Pierre Trudeau that the job of Leader of the Government in the Senate officially became a cabinet position. Mr. Harper has demonstrated an interest in distancing himself from measures introduced by governments of that stripe.
But, throughout Canadian history, most of the people who have held the title have been members of cabinet. Two of them - John Abbott and Mackenzie Bowell - actually served as prime minister. And Constitutional experts say severing the tie could prove problematic for Mr. Harper.
"It certainly adds a major complication not to have a government voice in the Senate," said David Smith, a constitutional scholar and professor emeritus from the University of Saskatchewan.
"I am very surprised," said Dr. Smith. "It strikes me that it would present some difficulties for the government, if for nobody else, in terms of not having the ability to speak with the government's authority in the (Red) Chamber. That just seems to me to be kind of necessary."
The Leaders of the Government in the Senate answer all questions on behalf of the elected government during that Chamber's Question Period. They also introduce government bills in the Senate – something the Conservatives have done with relative frequency.
Government bills in the House of Commons are always introduced by a cabinet minister. But Senate staff refused repeatedly to provide a straight answer – or to allow reporters to speak to anyone who knows the rules – when asked Thursday whether a government bill could be introduced in the Red Chamber by a senator who is not in cabinet.
So the practice of introducing government bills in the Senate might come to an abrupt end. Or not.
In either case, the Prime Minister apparently hopes to distance himself from the institution that has been making news this spring for all the wrong reasons - three of his own appointees have ended up in trouble over their expenses claims and two of them, plus a Liberal senator, have become subjects of an RCMP investigation.
Michael Behiels, a political historian at the University of Ottawa, said it is clear that the Conservative government is trying to shake things up. But, like Dr. Smith, Dr. Behiels said he believes the move could be problematic for the government.
How, for instance, will they communicate cabinet decisions to Conservative senators without breaking cabinet confidences, he asked.
"This is the conundrum that they are going to face if they want to get information to the Senate as to why the Conservatives in the Senate should vote one way or the other and what the thinking of the cabinet is on a piece of legislation," said Dr. Behiels. "That's going to be more difficult in terms of communication."
The Conservative caucus in the Senate has also demonstrated a recent willingness to buck the will of the Prime Minister by voting against a bill that had government support. Will they be further emboldened by the fact that there is no one in the Red Chamber to directly impart the expectations of Mr. Harper.
There have been instances in Canadian history, always under a Conservative or Progressive Conservative government, when the Leader of the Government in the Senate was not a cabinet minister. But it has not happened since 1969 when Mr. Trudeau appointed Paul Martin Sr., the father of the future Liberal prime minister, to his cabinet.
And Ned Franks, a constitutional scholar and professor emeritus at Queen's University, said he thinks it would be unfortunate if the Senate were to be stripped of its voice at the cabinet table.
"I think it is another step towards denigrating the Senate," said Dr. Franks. "I think it's a pity if they do it because the Senate is vastly underrated for the quality of its committee work, in particular it does a lot of good stuff on legislation and inquiries."
Gloria Galloway is a parliamentary reporter in Ottawa.