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The government’s arguments – which went to the Quebec Court of Appeal as well – outline the case the government will make on the constitutionality of its Senate reform bill, known as C-7. Since first introducing the bill two years ago, the government has argued that it alone can impose term limits on senators and set up a voluntary framework for provincial elections for Senate nominees.

In its court documents, the government argues it can even tweak the wording of the Constitution to remove references to the Senate as being part of Parliament, effectively killing it without the need for provincial consent.

The Senate Reform Act was introduced in June 2011, but concerns from within Tory ranks helped hold it up in the House of Commons for more than a year. Conservative senators were divided on the bill’s recommendations that Senate term limits be set at nine years, rather than allowing senators to sit until age 75.

The government pulled the bill from further debate in February when it decided to send it to the Supreme Court, which may take up to two years to come back with a response.

Poilievre wouldn’t say whether the government would leave any future Senate vacancies unfilled between now and the next election, expected in the fall of 2015. There are currently three vacancies with seven more senators due to hit the mandatory retirement age by the summer of 2015.

We can provide a democratic vote to recommend senators to the upper chamber, all without [using] an amending formula to the Constitution

“Our view has been that as long as the Senate is not elected, at the very least it should be controlled by appointees of a democratically elected government in the House of Commons. We continue to be of that view,” Poilievre said in his first press conference since being appointed to cabinet earlier this month.