Supriya Dwivedi/National Observer: According to political science professor Emmett Macfarlane, “The reform successfully limited (nearly eradicated) patronage appointments, making the Senate a more useful and independent policy advisory body. In the years since 2016, the more ‘independent’ Senate has more frequently proposed amendments to government legislation but without falling into the trap of becoming unduly obstructionist.”
This is objectively true. During the Harper majority years from 2011 to 2015, the Senate amended only one government bill that was sent up from the House of Commons. That’s compared to the Senate amending just under 40 government bills in the last decade since the reforms were implemented…