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OTTAWA — Brad Wall’s government is set to introduce a constitutional amendment into the Saskatchewan legislature this October calling for the abolition of the Canadian Senate.

The Saskatchewan government is anticipating that the Supreme Court of Canada will rule later this year that any constitutional amendments will require the support of at least seven provinces, containing 50% of the population.

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“Hopefully, this will get the ball rolling with the other provinces. We’re committed to this and the Premier wants to take a national leadership role,” said a senior government official.

He said the Premier will try to sell the idea when the provinces meet in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., for the Council of the Federation next week. Mr. Wall has long argued that the premiers are better placed to represent the provinces than party loyalists sitting in the Senate.

The official said the expectation is that the government of British Columbia will follow Saskatchewan’s move, and there are hopes that NDP governments in Manitoba and Nova Scotia would also initiate their own legislation. He said even the Parti Québécois government of Pauline Marois has no love for the Senate. However, the new Ontario Premier, Kathleen Wynne, has recently reversed the long-standing position of her predecessor, Dalton McGuinty, who favoured abolition, by saying she believes reform is possible.