The Senate in Canada

The Senate in Canada
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The legislative aides are very instrumental in the formulation of the various legislations at the senate. The senators rely on them for the research into the proposed laws. They are also supposed to work with the committees to present the testimonies material, when developing the various bills, as well as mass the legal support for the bills and coordinate the introduction of the same. The aides are also allowed to write the legislations and proof read them, to make the necessary amends before garnering the required support and the testimonies. Continually, they are supposed to inform the senator and the other staff on the progress of the bills and the pending ones. As such their contribution to the formulation of the laws is invaluable not just to the senators but to the whole process of drafting legislations among other duties.
When the idea of the senate was born of the fore fathers such as Sir John A. Macdonald, it was under the impression that it would caution the government against irregular and illegal moves against its people. In that light it could have been said that the senate was the watchdog institution that ensured the government did not exploit it citizens by passing into laws bills that were detrimental (Nossal, Roussel & Paquin, 2011). The British North Act of 1867 foiled the efforts as it gave the prime minister the power to name the senators to the position of the Governor General, one of the more powerful positions in the country and comes with hefty perks of about $130,400 as of the year 2009, annually until one is the age of 75. As such over the years, the senate has been losing its mandate as intended.
While the senate has been regarded as an element of the government that is instrumental, most people tend to forget that it is one of the most influential especially with regard to the politics and foreign policies in Canada. It has the power to reject or approve the various legislations in the interest of the public. It is the visionary body that undertakes to enquire about the various issues that relate to the legislations that are brought forward. Although the power is related to the rare occurrences when the opposition party controls the House of Commons, the senate has the power to reject bills and even suggest amendments to the same. In the same light the senate has the power to stall the implementation of a given legislation that they feel is not well balanced. This has however, has had some backlash in the past due to the fact the senate has been used repeatedly as an instrument to met patronage (Nossal, Roussel & Paquin, 2011).
In one of the incidences that took place in the year 1988, when the leader of the opposition had sought to force the election, by telling the liberal majority to vote against the bill that was referred to as the C-130. It had been a bill on free trade and the leader’s intensions were to use the voting process to bring about an election. When the senate intervened, its legitimacy that had been dwindling all along came into play. The senate was accused of being a representative agency, whose credibility was eroded given the massive patronage play in politics. The chair to the senate liberals chose to resign other than vote against the bill. The Prime Minister’s office is to blame for the kind of patronage that goes on in the senate thereby eroding its credibility in the system. Most of the prime ministers that have taken office from the time of Macdonald to the time of Harper have all been using the senate to give friends and supports patronage jobs.
The senate aide cannot be in a position to influence the policy changes on the floor of the house given that the debates are basically perfunctory. In the same light questions of the foreign affairs are met with the same old answer, that government enquiries have to be made before any of the questions can be responded to with finality. One of the most effective methods that the aides can use to influence the policy changes in the senate is by using the various standing and special committees that are given varying mandates (Nossal, Roussel & Paquin, 2011). The respective committee that has been assigned the duty of enquiring ...