Good idea or not?

The new Saskatchewan..Alberta light? This a good idea. or not I my opinion it is a great idea long over due.


Sask. plans to elect next senator
Veronica Rhodes, The Leader-Post, with files from Canwest News ServicePublished: Tuesday, May 20, 2008
The Saskatchewan Party government is planning to introduce a bill in the fall to elect senators, which would make it only the second Canadian province behind Alberta to hold such elections.
Justice Minister Don Morgan said the government is planning to introduce the bill during the fall sitting, with a vote on the legislation expected to be held in the spring. The move follows the government's commitment to democratic reform, which Morgan said was first demonstrated when Premier Brad Wall announced the next provincial election date shortly after taking office.
"It would be nice for our government to be able to say to the people of Saskatchewan, 'We are working towards developing a system where you will ultimately have elected senators.' That is certainly the direction we want to go," said Morgan in a phone interview from his Saskatoon home on Monday.

Senators are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whose Conservatives want an elected Senate.
Alberta has held Senate elections, including the 2004 vote during which Bert Brown was chosen. Brown is currently Canada's only elected senator after being appointed in 2007.
Brown said Tuesday he had known for a few months that Saskatchewan was on the cusp of following Alberta's lead.
The Saskatchewan premier called Brown less than 24 hours after winning the provincial election last year to say the government would clear the way to elect senators.
"It means everything," said Brown of Saskatchewan's move. "It takes it from a historical precedent to an established practice."
Brown said he believes other provinces will follow suit.
A draft of the legislation has been created and Morgan said discussions are underway with the federal government about its willingness to appoint Saskatchewan senators from a list of elected people.
"The way the Charter works right now, to have an elected senate by the federal government would require a constitutional amendment. No one is keen on doing a constitutional amendment at this point in time so what we would like to do is have our legislation sort of dovetail with what they're doing so that we have a list of people that the prime minister is willing to pick from when we have senate vacancies," said Morgan.
One of Saskatchewan's six senate seats is expected to become vacant in 2008, when Sen. Len Gustafson reaches the mandatory retirement age of 75.
Opposition leader Lorne Calvert has previously stated the NDP's first preference would be for the Senate to be abolished.
The Saskatchewan Party introduced a private member's bill in November 2006 that would have seen the province hold Senate elections in conjunction with provincial elections.
Senate elections may not only be done in conjunction with provincial elections but could be held along with municipal and federal votes, Morgan said. He added that through discussion, it was determined that people who are on the Senate ballot would be allowed to have party affiliation and the federal party leader would have to sign their nomination papers.
Once the details of the proposed legislation have been further fleshed out, Morgan said public input and discussion will be welcomed.
"Because it is a fundamental democratic issue, as soon as you get to the point where you've got something you can talk about, we want to engage the public as much as we can," he said.
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2008