News RSS (opens in a new window)
OP-ED: Reflections on four years in the Senate
Senator Tony Dean
It will take more hard work, and less politics, to regain the public trust in the Senate
After four years in the Senate of Canada, I’ve now seen the worlds of public administration and politics from both sides. I’m also participating in the most significant reform of the Senate in its 153-year-old history.
In 2015, I applied for a seat in Canada’s Senate under newly elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s new independent appointment process. Then teaching graduate students i…
Read More
OP-ED: Due to its greater independence, the Senate contributes to public discourse during pandemic
Senators Julie Miville-Dechêne and Tony Dean
Original french version by La Presse: Here
Because of its more discreet and less partisan nature, the Senate does not often make headlines. Yet the Red Chamber is going through its biggest transformation since its creation 153 years ago. At the heart of this transformation is a major shift from the classic opposition between Liberals and Conservatives that has prevailed since Confederation.
Since 2015, the appointment of a large number of indep…
Read More
OP-ED: Three Senators switch seats as Senate reform accelerates
Senator Tony Dean There was a bit of drama in the Senate in past weeks when three senators appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau moved to join the Progressive Senators Group (PSG). While some critics and journalists have painted this as a blow to Senate reforms, the reverse is true. This development is likely to accelerate the transition to a more independent Senate as opposed to undermining it. Comprised mostly of former members of the Liberal Caucus, the PSG rebranded it…
Read More
NEWS RELEASE: Prescription for a pandemic A strategy for survival
Prescription for a pandemic A strategy for survival
Federal, provincial and municipal public-health officials are working together to get frightened Canadians through the COVID-19 crisis; it's a marked departure from the splintered, dysfunctional system that dodged the SARS bullet 17 years ago Lessons learned from the brief, but worrisome 2003 SARS outbreak have made for a more co-ordinated, co-operative public-health response to the coronavirus pandemic at all levels across the cou…
Read More