Honourable senators, this item is adjourned in the name of Senator Plett, and I ask for leave of the Senate that, following my intervention, the balance of his time to speak to this item be reserved.

Honourable senators, I rise today to add my voice in support of Bill S-4.

I’d like to start by thanking the government and Minister LeBlanc for taking the initiative to consult with leaders before tabling this bill. I also commend the government for following through with the next step in their efforts to foster Senate reform.

Bill S-4 recognizes the current reality of a Senate dominated by senators who are not aligned with a political caucus in the House of Commons. In fact, today, more than 70% of senators are not aligned with a political caucus. This percentage will no doubt increase by the end of this current government’s mandate, and even if a future government decides to unwind what Prime Minister Trudeau has created here in the Senate, it will clearly take many years to do so.

While recognizing this current and potentially long-term reality, Bill S-4 does not strip out or attempt to take away the roles of the past. It provides a respectful flexibility such that if the Senate, over time, decides to revert to its former state, then no legislation needs to be brought forward to change it back. So the practical changes proposed in Bill S-4 around the recognition of groups that are not government or opposition are both timely now and relevant for the future.

That said, I hope that a reversion doesn’t happen. Canadians adamantly want the Senate to improve its performance. This has been confirmed by numerous surveys over the past two decades, including, as we know, by a couple of recent ones that were commissioned by our own Senator Dasko.

In their time in office and in response to public opinion, the Harper government developed a vision for Senate reform that involved elections and term limits; concepts that were widely supported in public surveys. Senator Black from Alberta and I are both here because former Prime Minister Harper appointed us in early 2013 after a Senate election in our province in the prior year.

While the public was keen on the ideas of elections and term limits, the Supreme Court was not, so with that initiative effectively sidelined, Prime Minister Harper made a decision not to appoint any new senators for the remainder of his time in office. This decision set the stage for the dramatic change in the Senate that has occurred over the past five and a half years.

Colleagues, without the decision taken by Prime Minister Harper to leave 22 seats vacant for his successor, the Senate would have a much different dynamic today, so we have him to thank for priming the pump of Senate reform. However, I must say it took the vision and the commitment for Prime Minister Trudeau to seize the opportunity to change the Senate. Throughout his time in office, he has been consistent in his words and his actions toward the creation of a new Senate dynamic, and I believe his work in this regard will become a positive pillar of his legacy.

Honourable colleagues, I believe we are firmly on a path toward the kind of improvement that Canadians want to see from the Senate. I also firmly believe it will take many years — decades — of incremental, positive improvement by all current and future senators before the Senate will receive favourable notice by a majority of Canadians — hard work for which there will be little or no credit, which is the essence of public service. I believe that Bill S-4 helps the Senate move forward, and that is why I support its passage.

Thank you, colleagues.