The Senate in Government Controversy

The triple-E senate proposal is not the best solution to the unfairness of the current Canadian senate. The most efficient solution would be to abolish the senate position completely. The primary reason why abolishing the senate would be more effective than instilling the triple-E proposal is because there is no need for the position. If provincial bills get passed completely fine without the Senate, then what is the need for the Senate at the federal level? The position is useless, undemocratic, and frequently biased towards the Prime ministers party. Secondly, the Senate costs Canadians too much money. As is, the Senate costs Canadians $60 million per year to operate; reforming the Senate would sharply increase the annual cost to an overwhelming $120 million. For simply a "sober second thought", $60 million is too costly for such an unnecessary position - espicially one without any official qualifications to view if a person is right for the job. Thirdly, the Senate is surprisingly undemocratic and outdated. In the democratic society we live in today, the people who fill the Senate seats should be chosen by the people. The Senate rarely declines bills because the Prime minister often fills Senate seats with supporters of his own party as a form of patronage for their loyality or support; patronage senates will almost always favor the Prime minister's decisions. Alarmingly, any person over the age of 30, living in the province/territory they represent, and own $4000 worth of property can be appointed as a Senate - even a former CFL comissioner (Larry Smith). Lastly, the Senate is not truly representation by population. Ontario has a population of approximately  12 million people, while Quebec has a population of about 7.5 million people, yet they have the same number of Senate seats. The current Canadian Senate is in need of abolishment as it is too obscure as is, and would cost too much money to reform. The fact that the triple-E proposal has been around for years suggests that there won't be changes or reforms any time soon.