When I announced my resignation from the Senate, the last thing I expected was to be praised for my “courage.” For instance, Sen. Murray Sinclair, former chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, wrote on Twitter: “Someday, I hope you will come to see this as the act of courage and inspiration it is. When the way we behave repels good people like you, it is we who must change.”

I looked for the definition of the word courage in the Oxford Dictionary of English: “strength in the face of pain or grief.” My resignation does not fit the bill; it is a show of weakness, not strength. Those who stay and are determined to continue the fight for a modern, non-partisan and effective upper chamber are the courageous ones. For it will be an uphill battle.

Thanks to the changes brought to the appointment mechanism by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the majority of senators are now nonaffiliated, meaning that they are not part of a partisan caucus and do not identify with a political party.

This has contributed to a change in the dynamics of debate. Independent senators examine each piece of legislation on its merits, and feel free to vote in favour or against a bill or to propose substantive amendments. This was much rarer in earlier days. Independent senators are not whipped.

Although this is a welcome change, it is far from being sufficient to achieve the kind of in-depth reform that would convince a majority of Canadians that this chamber of Parliament is worth having after all.

One difficulty is that the new practices have not been enshrined in the rules of the Senate and in the Parliament of Canada Act. Consequently, it would be easy for a future government to return to the old system, where the Senate was a pale copy of the extremely partisan House of Commons.

Another issue is that partisanship and the “party line” are still very much present in the Senate. Conservative Senators are members of the national conservative caucus. They are whipped. Their agenda is to obstruct all government legislation, as much as the rules allow. And the rules allow quite a lot.

For its part, the government wants its legislation adopted, with as few changes as possible; it is not often willing to listen to what independent Senators have to say. Furthermore, the Trudeau government is not beyond exercising pressure on independent Senators so they vote a certain way.

In such a context, it is difficult for independent Senators to fully exercise their new-found independence. At any rate, this is the distinct impression I got during my three years and a half in the Senate. It is, in part, why I left. Having always, as a journalist, put reason, objectivity and moderation at the top of my professional values, I found it very difficult to work in an environment where partisan interests appeared to be foremost in so many minds.

My resignation was a personal decision, not a political statement against the Senate or a veiled criticism of the Senate reform project. It was an acknowledgment of my lack of adequate skills to function in this kind of partisan circus. Some said: “You should have known.” I should have. But I was, as always, an idealist.

Having made this personal decision, I am convinced more than ever that Canadians hold an unfair perception of the Senate, as a place where little business of consequence is conducted and whose occupants are only interested in collecting a generous pay cheque. The reality is that Senators work extremely hard at fulfilling the mandate with which the Fathers of Confederation entrusted them.

This being said, it is true that the Senate would be much improved if partisanship was reduced even more. The chamber should also be more effective; there is simply too much time wasted on partisan and procedural bickering. Most Senators are perfectly aware of these challenges and are fully prepared to tackle them during the course of the next Parliament. I have every confidence that, courageous as they are, they will succeed.

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2019/10/30/andre-pratte-why-i-resigned-from-the-senate.html?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=email&utm_email=0C810E7AE4E7C3CEB3816076F6F9881B&utm_campaign=top_17277&utm_content=a&source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=0C810E7AE4E7C3CEB3816076F6F9881B&utm_campaign=top_17277&utm_content=a04