senators
to taxpayers
age
elected by voters
The Structure
Three Democratic Deficits
One Person Populates an Entire Legislative Chamber
The Prime Minister appoints senators on the advice of an Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments — created in 2016. Before 2016, the PM appointed senators directly without any advisory process. Even with the advisory board, the PM retains the final decision. Over a multi-term government, a single PM can appoint the majority of the Senate — shaping the legislative body that reviews every bill for decades after leaving office. Senators serve until age 75, meaning a single PM's appointments can influence legislation for 20–30 years. This is the legislative equivalent of court stacking — and it operates with less public scrutiny than judicial appointments.
Unelected, Unaccountable, Unreformable
No senator faces re-election. No senator must answer to voters. No senator can be removed through democratic process (only through criminal conviction, failure to attend, or loss of qualification). Senators who disagree with public opinion face no electoral consequence. The Senate can delay or amend legislation indefinitely without democratic accountability. This is by design — the Senate was intended as a chamber of "sober second thought." In practice, it is a chamber of institutional inertia that resists any reform that would subject it to democratic accountability.
Hundreds of Thousands in Questionable Claims
The Senate expenses scandal (2012–2016) revealed that multiple senators claimed hundreds of thousands of dollars in housing allowances, travel expenses, and office costs — some while maintaining primary residences that did not qualify for the expenses claimed. The AG conducted a comprehensive audit of Senate expenses. Criminal charges were laid against Senator Mike Duffy, who was acquitted. The scandal exposed a culture of entitlement in an institution that operates without the electoral accountability that keeps elected officials in check. The Crown immunity that shields government from liability extends to the Senate — an institution that spends $100M+ annually of public money without facing voters.
The Unelected Legislative Veto
The PM appoints senators from the same networks documented across this site. Those senators review every bill that could reform captured institutions. No voter can remove them. No reform can change them. Constitutional amendment requires 7 provinces — ensuring it never happens.
The Senate persists because the captured system benefits from an unelected legislative veto. This is institutional capture applied to the legislative process itself.