As Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne puts the final touches this weekend on her first throne speech setting out her government’s agenda for the coming months, she should seriously consider adding one more sentence.

That single sentence in the Feb. 19 speech should vow that Wynne will actively push Ottawa to hold a national referendum on the future of the Senate.

And if she fails to convince Prime Minister Stephen Harper to do that, then she should suggest she would conduct a non-binding referendum, timed with the next Ontario election, to send a message to Ottawa that voters are ready to abolish or reform the Senate.

With that lone sentence, Wynne would be doing a huge favour to all Canadians. She would be starting the movement — at last — either to get rid of our disgraced Upper House of Horrors or to make the expensive, undemocratic body more accountable to voters.

Wynne’s timing would be perfect.

That’s because for one of the rare moments in our history, voter attention is focused on the Senate.

Scandals that have surfaced in the past two weeks have thrown a rare spotlight on the Senate.

First, there was the arrest of Sen. Patrick Brazeau on charges of assault and sexual assault. Next came the news that high-profile Sen. Mike Duffy, Sen. Mac Harb and Brazeau have claimed up to $22,000 in special housing allowances after they insisted their prime residences were outside of Ottawa, which they may not have been.

Finally, Canadians are outraged by the antics and waste displayed by our unelected senators, who often act, as NDP MP Charlie Angus told The Canadian Press, as an unaccountable “secret society.”

Indeed, a fresh CP/Harris-Decima survey conducted Feb. 7-10 in the wake of the scandals shows that a growing number of Canadians, some 32 per cent, want the Senate abolished. That’s up from 27 per cent in a similar poll conducted two years ago. It indicates that for one of the first times the same number of people want to abolish the Senate as those who prefer to see an elected Senate.

Ever since it was created in 1867, the Senate has been held in low esteem.

As author Claire Hoy wrote in his 1999 book titled ,Nice Work: The Continuing Scandal of Canada’s Senate,Canadians see the Senate “as a useless, expensive, undemocratic appendage of government. All too often they view it, accurately, as a refuge and dumping ground for bagmen, party apologists and failed politicians. Most Canadians agree that the place is overdue for change.”

The reasons for abolishing the Senate overwhelm the arguments for “reforming” it, such as having senators directly elected by voters.

First, there is no real need for an upper chamber, elected or not. None of the provinces, which pass more legislation that directly affects people’s lives than Ottawa, have a Senate and none of them see a need for a chamber of “sober second thought.” In fact, about half the world’s countries operate nicely with a unicameral legislature.

Second, provincial premiers — not unelected senators — are the true defenders of regional interests, which is cited as a key reason for the Senate’s very existence.

Third, it costs well over $100 million a year to operate the Senate, including the $132,000 annual salary for the 105 senators, their staffs and expenses.

For that, senators need to show up for work barely 70 days a year. Not bad, eh?

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In return, Canadians get a few Senate committee reports that could easily have been prepared by university professors or private think-tanks for a fraction of the cost. Worse, few, if any, of these reports have any more influence on government policy than a high school student’s civics essay.

Admittedly, it will be difficult to abolish the Senate. It will take agreement by both the House of Commons and Senate, along with the approval of the provinces. It could take years, leaving some to wonder, “Why bother?”

But it’s not impossible.

In 1951, after years of work, New Zealand abolished its equivalent of our Senate. Here in Canada, Quebec got rid of its Senate in 1968.

Just because it may be hard is no excuse not to try. Pierre Trudeau, for example, overcame huge opposition and managed to patriate Canada’s Constitution and win approval for the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982.

For decades, Canadians weren’t mad enough to demand major changes, all the way to abolition, of the Senate. With these latest scandals, they are ready now.

In next Tuesday’s throne speech, Wynne will focus mainly on jobs, the economy, the teacher dispute and health care. That’s the right decision because those are Ontarians’ priorities.

But by also pushing for a national referendum on the Senate, Wynne can make history as the leader who kick-starts the movement toward abolishing an outdated, costly national embarrassment.

It takes just a single sentence.

Bob Hepburn’s column appears Thursday. bhepburn@thestar.ca .

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