OTTAWA - A Conservative senator wants voters to decide whether to put Canada's sleepy upper chamber into permanent repose.
Senator Hugh Segal -- who could be doing himself out of a job if people say yes -- says he believes in the value of the Senate, but its legitimacy as a non-elected body is dubious.
Segal, a former chief of staff to Brian Mulroney, says he wants a debate and a referendum on the Senate's future.
"We've had 17 efforts at reforming the Senate since 1900,'' he said. "All of them have failed.
"The legitimacy of the place is under attack on a pretty regular basis.''
Segal says he'd personally vote against abolition because he feels the Senate offers regional and provincial interests and can be a check on poorly drafted laws rushed through the Commons.
He notes, though, that Canadians never voted for an appointed Senate.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who wants to reform the upper house, last week warned the Senate against stalling his big crime bill. There would be consequences, he said, without detailing what those consequences might be. He has said several times that abolishing the Senate would be an option if it cannot be reformed.
But Segal said he's not a stalking horse for the prime minister.
"He can do better than me on that front.''
If the motion passes the Senate -- and the Liberal majority isn't supportive right now -- it would constitute a formal request to the cabinet to hold a referendum.
He said he thinks the Harper government would welcome a chance to ask Canadians what they want.
"There is no question that, amongst Conservatives, Senate reform evokes some of the strongest positive feelings,'' he said.
Segal wants the vote to come under the Referendum Act, which would require the formation of two bodies to campaign for and against and would require a question approved by the Senate and Commons.
"I think involving the public is a good thing,'' he said. "It's their institution. We work for them, it's not the other way around, and we shouldn't be afraid to bring the public to the table.''
In recent months, the premiers of British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario have called for abolition.
If a majority of voters went for abolition in a majority of provinces, that would give the first ministers the push they would need to support a unanimous constitutional amendment to kill the Senate.
But, Segal said, if the pro-Senate side campaigned on a pledge of reform, "that would constitute a basis to go forward.''
Harper has tried small reforms -- including term limits -- without success. He has said he wants an elected and effective Senate.
Segal said a referendum could provide clarity on what changes are needed.
"Let the voters speak,'' he said. "Let them tell us what they want.''
