An in-depth breakdown of the recent wave of Canadian Senate scandals, highlighting the need for abolition.

The Senate of Canada was created as a temporary expedient at the time of Confederation, offered as part of the negotiations to bring Canada’s original colonial provinces into the new political union in the mid-1860s. Since then, the original provinces with upper houses abolished them. New provinces were created without second chambers to their legislatures. Only the Parliament of Canada remains stuck with its redundant and irrelevant colonial relic, costly to maintain and out of step with the values of a modern democratic country. Today, the Senate of Canada is rocked by ongoing scandal. News of this far-reaching scandal rightly disturbs Canadians, but the real national scandal is the very existence of the Senate itself.

PATRICK BOYER grew up using the Bracebridge Carnegie Library. His mother had once been the librarian and his grandfather chairman of the library board. Patrick has an MA in history from the University of Toronto and is author of some 18 books. Patrick Boyer, lawyer, author, teacher and former parliamentarian, is himself author of many books, including Just Trust Us (2003), Leading in an Upside-Down World (2003), Direct Democracy in Canada (1992), and The People's Mandate (1992).

J. Patrick Boyer's profile page

"The Senate expenses scandal that has transfixed Canadians gives them the perfect opportunity to rid themselves of this “colonial relic,” J. Patrick Boyer argues persuasively in his latest book."

Winnipeg Free Press

Our Scandalous Senate is a lively recounting of the famous troubles by a former two-term MP. Boyer is a delightful writer who dissects the problem plainly: the Senate suffers from a near-absence of leadership.

Blacklock’s Reporter

. . . it should find a place in library collections as a serviceable reference text.

Quill & Quire