Please be seated, senators: Canadians are owed an upper chamber that works
. They can even introduce some types of legislation that go on to the House of Commons for passage.
And yet a new investigation by The Globe and Mail has found that, in 104 Senate sitting days since November, 2021, an average of 25 membersIn one notable case, just 58 senators were present on Feb. 2 for the final vote on, which makes important changes to the Broadcasting Act. Of the 19 votes on legislation since last October, 12 were attended by 58 senators or fewer.
There are, of course, valid reasons for a senator to miss a vote. Health can be an issue in a body whose members can work to 75 . Family matters can take precedence sometimes. And a senator can be away from Ottawa or unable to make it to the chamber for valid reasons related to their job. Given that a key function of the Senate is to balance regional interests across a vast country, it is all the more alarming that nine of the current 16 vacancies are seats representing the Atlantic provinces. Six of those have been empty for a year or more.
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