The Conservative government said it will support an NDP motion to abolish the Upper House if two Senate reform bills are again blocked by the opposition.
"We are open to different approaches to the details of Senate reform, but we will not compromise on one fundamental aspect: the Senate must change," Peter Van Loan, the minister responsible for democratic reform, told a press conference Tuesday.
"If that change cannot happen through reform, then we believe the Senate should be abolished. But this is not our preferred route."
The first bill calls for a term limit of eight years for senators. Currently, senators only have to retire when they turn 75, meaning they can hold terms of up to 45 years.
"This is unacceptable in a modern democracy and must change," said Van Loan.
The second bill changes the way senators are selected. Canadians would be involved in a consultation process for nominees and vote for their choice, in conjunction with either a federal or provincial election. The prime minister would then be shown a list of nominees and make the final choice.
"This will allow Canadians to pass judgment on the conduct of senators, who will now have to be accountable for the decisions they make, the work they do and the pay they receive," Van Loan told reporters.
Both bills are essentially the same as two pieces of legislation proposed in the previous parliamentary session. But this time, the term limit bill clarifies that senators would only serve one term, and it will be introduced in the House of Commons rather than the upper chamber.
In the last session, the Liberal-dominated Senate never voted on the bill because it said the issue of term limits could only be addressed with provincial consent, and asked for a Supreme Court decision on the matter.
"The senators refused to carry out their constitutional obligation to deal with that bill," said Van Loan.
However, the governments of Quebec and Ontario sided with the Senate in the last session, saying any reforms would need a constitutional amendment approved by seven provinces.
Liberal Senator George Baker said everyone holding a seat in the upper chamber would like reform, and that senators had actually reduced the possible term limit outlined in the previous bill.
He told CTV's Mike Duffy Live that the previous term limit bill had called for two sessions of eight years, for a possible total of 16, while senators had amended the bill to a single 15-year term -- although that would only be a potential one-year difference.
"That term limit bill was limited to less than the government wanted ... and at the end we said it should then go to a court for verification," he said.
Conservative Senator Hugh Segal said that Prime Minister Stephen Harper indicated his willingness to support amendments to the bill, but in the end the Liberals stalled the legislation's passage.
"The Liberals never amended the bill so it could pass. They in the end held it up for some kind of ephemeral reference to the Supreme Conference," he said.
On Tuesday, Van Loan was accompanied by Conservative Senate Leader Marjory LeBreton, who said it's "unhealthy" for Canada's democracy to have a Senate unchanged since Confederation.
"The Senate must change and become the effective and independent voice it was meant to be. It must change because Canadians want the Senate to change," she said.
