This opinion piece, written by Senator Leo Housakos and published earlier this year in the Montreal Gazette, talked about the Senate’s attempt to improve the connection between this parliamentary institution and the Canadian citizens. As stated in the article, the Senate tried to deepen the connection between citizens and the institution by cultivating a better communication amongst them. According to Senator Housakos, transparency and accessibility go hand in hand with good governance, meaning the main purpose behind the Senate’s actions was their desire to be more open about their committee meetings and about the decisions that were taken. At the same time, Senator Housakos highlighted the Senate’s significance in the Canadian constitution
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Some of these communication strategies include live-tweeting the progress of legislation during debates, live streaming conferences and discussion panels, sharing content on Facebook, posting photos on Instagram and constantly publishing content in their digital magazine SenCAPlus.
With the Senate of Canada being, arguably, “the most social-media friendly legislative assembly in the world, [the] formal changes have helped [the Senate] highlight the strong substance of the upper chamber.” And this became crucial. When debating BillC-14, the government’s medical assistance in dying legislation, senators were constantly submitting reports on the meetings since they were making an enormous decision that affected the whole nation.
It is arguable that when Senator Housakos mentioned the House of Commons, he made an unsupported generalized statement that his counter upper chamber house was not as ‘transparent’ and ‘open’ as the Senate is trying to be. Regardless of this being an opinion piece, I would argue this is the only time where the author does not represent the ideas fairly while making a generalized …show more content…
Its abolishment or reformation would mean an enormous change in the Canadian constitution, and frankly, it is not a necessary change right now. Knowing the Senate is trying to take steps towards transparency as a legislative body, demonstrates their interest in the Canadian population. Since senators have taken upon themselves to transform the federal institution into a more approachable for citizens, it demonstrates the informal changes and steps that are making this institution more transparent. As a result, I agree with senator Housako that the Senate is a significant member of the constitution and that its effort to increase a better communication lead to better
Some of these communication strategies include live-tweeting the progress of legislation during debates, live streaming conferences and discussion panels, sharing content on Facebook, posting photos on Instagram and constantly publishing content in their digital magazine SenCAPlus.
With the Senate of Canada being, arguably, “the most social-media friendly legislative assembly in the world, [the] formal changes have helped [the Senate] highlight the strong substance of the upper chamber.” And this became crucial. When debating BillC-14, the government’s medical assistance in dying legislation, senators were constantly submitting reports on the meetings since they were making an enormous decision that affected the whole nation.
It is arguable that when Senator Housakos mentioned the House of Commons, he made an unsupported generalized statement that his counter upper chamber house was not as ‘transparent’ and ‘open’ as the Senate is trying to be. Regardless of this being an opinion piece, I would argue this is the only time where the author does not represent the ideas fairly while making a generalized …show more content…
Its abolishment or reformation would mean an enormous change in the Canadian constitution, and frankly, it is not a necessary change right now. Knowing the Senate is trying to take steps towards transparency as a legislative body, demonstrates their interest in the Canadian population. Since senators have taken upon themselves to transform the federal institution into a more approachable for citizens, it demonstrates the informal changes and steps that are making this institution more transparent. As a result, I agree with senator Housako that the Senate is a significant member of the constitution and that its effort to increase a better communication lead to better