How Canadians Govern Themselves - Parlement du Canada

How Canadians Govern ThemselvesPhoto: Library of Parliament/Paul CouvretteThe Senate in session.The Institutions of Our Federal Government36In theory these powers are formidable.But the Senate rarely rejects a billpassed by the House of Commons,and has very rarely insisted on anamendment that the House ofCommons rejected. In other cases, theSenate has not adopted bills before theend of a session, thereby effectivelystopping them from becoming law.Most of the amendments the Senatemakes to bills passed by theCommons are clarifying or simplifyingamendments, and are almost alwaysaccepted by the House of Commons.The Senate’s main work is done in itscommittees, where it goes over billsclause by clause and hears evidence,often voluminous, from groups andindividuals who would be affected bythe particular bill under review. Thiscommittee work is especially effectivebecause the Senate has many memberswith specialized knowledge andlong years of legal, business oradministrative experience. Their ranksinclude ex-Ministers, ex-Premiers ofprovinces, ex-mayors, eminent lawyersand experienced farmers.In recent decades, the Senate has takenon the task of investigating importantpublic concerns such as health care,national security and defence, aboriginalaffairs, fisheries, and human rights.These investigations have producedvaluable reports, which have often ledto changes in legislation or government