The Canadian Senate is to consider a plan to do a complete, top-to-bottom audit of its expenses, including the spending of each of its individual senators.
It could be that this is a good thing. From all the evidence so far it seems that senators like Mike Duffy have treated the Red Chamber less like a place of learned discourse and more like Scrooge McDuck's money vault.
Duffy has been backstroking through cash and perks since being appointed, and we eagerly await more thorough audits of his fellow ex-journalist Pamela Wallin, along with a few other less famous senators. On the other hand, perhaps an audit isn't worth the cost.
Maybe we could just save money by replacing the senate with bags of sand, propped up in the comfy armchairs of the chamber.
They would, in many ways, resemble the average senator. They would take up space, they would weigh about the same, and they'd have as much relevance to the average Canadian.
In theory, the Canadian senate holds an interesting place in our democracy, as a chamber in which lifetime appointments allow its members the security of not having to worry about public opinion.
In practice, the senate still holds an interesting place in our democracy. First, it's not in the least democratic. Second, it has produced not very much sober second thought over the years, but has proved to be an excellent producer of scandal, patronage, and headlines about worthless old political hacks taking vacations in Mexico or Florida on the taxpayer's dime.
The senate only needs an audit if we intend to keep it around in its present form. If we can all agree that it needs massive reform, or simply to be disbanded, let's skip a step, save some money, and just get on with the job.
