By Jill Smith

Government votes to repeal Senate nomination bill

Nov 6, 2013 | 4:14 PM

Saskatchewan's government parties have voted to take its first step to support the abolition of the Senate.

A motion to support abolition of the Canadian Senate was put forward by Premier Brad Wall on the floor of the Legislature Wednesday afternoon.  The government have already voted to repeal a previous bill that called for the province to nominate potential senators for the Prime Minister's consideration.

The motion being introduced now isn't a constitutional amendment, but it does make both sides' support for abolition of an official government stance. The measure comes on the heels of the suspension of three senators on Tuesday.

Wall has let his position on the Senate be known for a while now.

“For a long time, I was an advocate of Senate reform, to make the Senate elected and more accountable,” Wall said in a statement earlier this year. “However, the lack of progress in this regard, coupled with the growing cost, ineffectiveness and lack of accountability of the Senate, has led me to believe that the more realistic solution is to work toward abolishing the Senate.”

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Back in May he called on members of the Saskatchewan Party to support abolition. A full 86 per cent of party members supported that position in a vote in June.

Getting rid of the Senate has been a long-time policy of Canadian New Democrats as well, a position supported by the provincial wing of the party. The issue picked up a new sense of import after the Senate expense scandal emerged.

One of the senators suspended this week is Saskatchewan Conservative appointee Pamela Wallin. She's scheduled to appear on News Talk Radio's John Gormley Live on Thursday morning, where she is expected to respond to the suspension and the Premier's measures.

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