Supreme Court of Canada rules on Senate Reform

[Goose]

http://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/13614/index.do

 

TL;DR:

 

Changing term limit requires provincial consent (7/50 formula)

 

Adding a requirement for consultative elections without an opt out requires provincial consent (7/50 formula)

 

Eliminating the property requirement can be done without provincial consent (unilateral)

 

Abolishing the senate requires consent of all provinces (unanimous)

 

So pretty much no senate reform any time soon, but you can bet Harper will change the property requirements. 

[Luna Lovegood]

The property requirements are hilarious.  Outdated, but hilarious.  Other than that I think this effectively puts Senate abolition entirely out of the question, seeing as Altantic Canada ain't having none of that.  Reform might be possible but is probably going to require a gutsy PM.  I hope Harper continues to move forward with seeking provincial referendums before appointing new Senators in an attempt to create constitutional convention.