Tories' Senate Reform Bill Out This Week

Democratic Reform Minister Tim Uppal will shepherd the passage of one of the Tories' longest-held legislative dreams.

The Conservative government will reportedly introduce a Senate reform bill this week that will set term limits for senators and require new members of the upper chamber to be elected. The term limits would be set at either eight or nine years, and the elections would be run by the provinces when one of their representative's terms runs out. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has pledged to reform the Senate for almost as long as he's been a politician, and while this is still short of the “equal, effective and elected” Senate he espoused in his Reform years, the legislation could still prove to be among the most drastic changes to the upper house in Canadian history.