Diary of a new Senator: understanding the new org

PARLIAMENT HILL—When I was “summoned” to the Senate by the governor general last November, on the advice of the prime minister, I became a member of the Upper House to review legislation passed by the House of Commons. It is an amazing role for anyone interested in public policy that helps Canada and Canadians. The way the nomination system has worked since the start of Justin Trudeau’s prime ministership is that you apply online to the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments. I hear thousands of people do. The criteria for applying are very detailed, and the process keeps you on course by asking very specific questions. The committee examines all the applications and is said to give the prime minister five recommendations for each Senate vacancy. It’s a pretty long, detailed process that can take a couple of years. I was appointed as an Independent Senator, which means I get to decide how I vote on each bill and motion. No party pressure, no party discipline, no caucusing with a party in the House, no working on fundraising for a political party, or helping to run a leadership or election campaign, no using debates in the Senate to help party fundraising. No one hands me speeches to deliver or questions to ask, and no one tells me what to say, admonishes me for saying the wrong thing, or for not saying the right thing. No one assigns me committee membership. I'm politically independent. As such, it is at the same time exciting, a heavy responsibility, and very humbling. And for the government, it is a risk since it has no control of the Upper Chamber. It's a “beau risque,” if I can borrow a term from another time. There are, however, groups to be part of in the Senate. To clarify, for Independent Senators, you can join a group or be “non-affiliated." Groups do caucus, but do not push a political or partisan point of view, and certainly don’t dictate how to vote. The caucus meetings are more to discuss what to expect in the days or weeks ahead, and, in one caucus, to allow for a discussion of the policy issues. So, when we have a standing vote, Senators are avidly looking around the Chamber to see how each person is going to vote. Because of the arcane rules of procedure created for the political parties since the time of Confederation—traditionally, there were just two in the Senate: Conservatives and Liberal—many things are still determined by group membership. Groups get seats on committees based on the number of Senators in each group. These are important because this is where bills are reviewed in detail and where special in-depth studies are conducted. (It is worth noting that while any Senator can attend any committee and participate in the conversation, only designated members get to vote and can attend in-camera sessions.) The size of groups also determines who speaks in the Senate Chamber—be that in debate, Question Period, or statements. The few Senators who remain unaffiliated need to get groups to give up a seat for them on a committee, and they get scant chances to speak in the Chamber. Currently there are five groups, sort of. Government Representative’s Office (two members): This position (currently held by non-affiliated Senator Marc Gold and one or two deputies) used to be called the government leader in the Senate. Although they represent the Liberal government, these Senators are not Liberals, but work to co-ordinate the work of the government in the Senate. The representative also gets to answer all the questions during the daily Question Period—a somewhat odd exercise considering they are neither a Liberal, nor a cabinet member, and have had no hand in the development of the government’s policy. But I digress. The other groups in order of largest numbers are: Independent Senators Group (39 members): When Prime Minister Trudeau began the process of appointing only Independent Senators in 2015, the appointed ones created this group. They don’t have a philosophical bent. The ISG has grown to 39 of the 60 or so Senators whom Trudeau has appointed to date. The group is currently led by Senator Raymonde Saint-Germain. Conservative Party (15): They are proudly holding onto the traditional party approach, and don’t agree with the independent process. They caucus with their Conservative counterparts in the House, and see Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre as their party leader. Their approach is in lock step with their elected colleagues, and they have designated themselves as the official opposition in the Senate, despite their lower numbers—and are hence able to have various special privileges such as longer or even unlimited speaking times on bills. These Senators and their leader in the House have consistently said, for years, that if elected to government, they would return to partisan appointments. The Conservative leader in the Upper Chamber is Senator Don Plett. Canadian Senators Group (14): This group began with some of Conservative Senators who were generally not hard-core Conservatives or who were somewhat "Red Tories," and now have an assortment of some conservative-leaning members, some newly appointed Independents and one former Liberal. Senator Scott Tannas is the leader of the CSG. Progressive Senate Group (12): The Progressive Senate Group was started by Liberal Senators when they were dropped from the party caucus by Trudeau well before his 2015 election victory. Today, there is only one original Liberal left (albeit Independent now) and the others are appointed Independents and one former Conservative. They have a bit of a philosophical bent, which is to give high priority to the Charter of Rights, and focus on Indigenous reconciliation. This is the group I chose to join. The leader is Senator Jane Cordy. Non-Affiliated Senators (seven): This number includes the Senate Speaker (Senator Raymonde Gagné), three Senators who have exited other groups, and three new Senators who have not yet joined a group, one of whom intends to remain non-affiliated. Regional breakdown The Constitution mandates 105 Senators in total, with 24 Senators each from Quebec and Ontario, 24 from the Maritimes (10 each from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and four from Prince Edward Island) six from Newfoundland and Labrador, 24 from the western provinces (six each from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia) and one from each territory. Senators represent their province or territory at large, except for Quebec with has 24 specific “divisions” defined back in the Constitution. There are currently 16 vacancies. Post-COVID, Senators have to take part in person, there being no remote participation or voting as in the House of Commons. There are 18 Senate committees, which are organized differently from the House, and four joint committees. That’s the current lay of the land. For those keen political observers who find the Senate hard to figure out, I hope this short overview clarifies some aspects. I am sure some of my colleagues might characterize the explanations differently. Apologies in advance if there are any errors, but that’s how I have learned it in my six months on the job. And yes, I do learn something new every day. I plan a few more entries in my diary of a new Senator, and welcome questions for other information. Please email me at Andrew.Cardozo@sen.parl.gc.ca. Andrew Cardozo, who is a Senator representing Ontario, is a member of the Progressive Senate Group. He was appointed to the Senate in November 2022. The Hill Times

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Diary of a new Senator: understanding the new org

I was appointed as an Independent Senator, meaning I decide how I vote on each bill and motion. No party pressure, discipline, caucusing in the House or political fundraising.

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