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It must be rather galling for them, then, to watch the Liberals so quickly moving reform the appointments process in a manner that might not just be feasible without a constitutional amendment, but may be acceptable to many Conservative supporters, as well. The plan Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef unveiled Thursday is for a five-person panel, three representing Ottawa and two the “province or territory of the vacancy(ies) to be filled,” to recommend accomplished Canadians for the prime minister to nominate and the governor general to appoint.

The overarching goal is ostensibly “to reduce partisanship” in the upper chamber, and presumably in so doing so, increase its usefulness (but not too much, heaven forbid). Needless to say, Trudeau will only deserve kudos if he appoints useful non-partisan people to the advisory panel and if the panel then recommends and Trudeau selects useful non-partisan people to fill the vacancies. But to those who assumed Trudeau would immediately torch his ambitious platform and begin governing like former prime minister Jean Chrétien, this announcement must be yet another surprise.

Democratically, however, this is less a triumph than a kludge. The Liberals are essentially crowing that they’ve managed to reform the Senate, which Canadians want, without reopening the Constitution, which Canadians don’t want. They’re not wrong. But if this plan passes constitutional muster, it will be in such an odd way as to suggest all on its own that the Constitution might need amending.