r/canadaguns • u/AutoModerator • Jun 13 '22

Weekly Politics Thread

Please post all your Politics or Ban-related ideas, initiatives, comments, suggestions, news articles, and recommendations in this thread. Unless new information is published in the media, recurring articles related to the gov'ts ***possible*** legislation are to be posted here. These threads will be weekly, until it's necessary for another per-week.

Previous politics threads can be found here. Previous threads can be found here.

We understand that politics is a touchy subject, and at times things can get heated. A reminder of the subreddit rules, when commenting, where subreddit users are expected to abide.

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u/DistortoiseLP Jun 15 '22

Specifically, what is the role of the Senate?

"Sober second thought." Our senate is appointed for life (well until 75 now) by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister to a composition based on national region.

Their job is basically to check the House of Commons' homework. They have precedence over the House but the general way it goes is that the House chooses the decisions to be made and the Senate chooses to agree with them or not.

Where the Senate really differs from the House is that in exchange for this limited oversight in the decision making process, it doesn't dissolve when the rest of the government does either and it's largely incapable of triggering one itself.

What this does in practice is equip the government with political damping. Over time, the Senate is shaped by the current Prime Minister's appointments, which means any incumbent government will need to rule modestly for a few years before they can enact anything the last government's Senate would oppose from a fresh new radical government.

Where Trudeau has composed two thirds of the current Senate by now, don't expect them to oppose the current House or necessarily play nice with the next one for some time.

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u/Batsinvic888 Bats888 on YouTube Jun 15 '22

I don't mean the entire role of the Senate, I get that. I mean in this specific situation with a regulation change proposal.

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u/DistortoiseLP Jun 15 '22

Like I said, they have the power to reject the bill, but I haven't seen any compelling reason why they would just because they could.

That said, the user you're replying to is pointing out they rejected something else to illustrate they're not just rubber stamping at this time. The Senate is prepared to question the House, and that is good to see.

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u/Batsinvic888 Bats888 on YouTube Jun 15 '22

I understand the bill, but I'm specifically talking about the regulation change that allows them to OIC handgun transfers. That is separate from the C-21.

What committee does it go to, how does it differ from SECU, who comprises that committee, and what's the timeline. I would assume they could strike it down, but I don't know the process.