The Editor,
The latest developments with respect to the Canadian Senate indicate that this relic of the past should be put to rest.
Ridiculous out-of-town housing and travel claims by a number of Senators have again cast a shadow on this chamber of sleepy second thought.
A number of attempts to reform the senate in the past have failed miserably.
Similarly, any more efforts to reform it won't go anywhere.
The Senate, in its current form, has outlived its usefulness.
It is a waste of more than $91 million of tax payers' hard-earned money year after year.
Getting rid of the Senate will require a constitutional amendment, which may be almost impossible to achieve.
Provinces like Ontario and Quebec, as well as the Maritimes, are unlikely to agree to any measures to get rid of this white elephant.
Getting an equal, effective and elected Senate is also likely to go nowhere.
Under these circumstances, the only viable option seems to be to stop making any new appointments to the Senate.
Ultimately, at some point in the future, we will have no one sitting in the Red Chamber.
That will give Canadians an opportunity to explore suitable options that will make sense.
Balwant Sanghera Richmond
