The Supreme Court of Canada hit the Harper government with a landmark defeat in its attempts to unilaterally change the Senate.
Here are five key points from its 8-0 decision:
1. The Harper government cannot by itself significantly change how senators are appointed or how long they serve.
2. The Senate can only be abolished with the unanimous consent of the federal Parliament and all provinces.
3. Creating term limits for senators or requiring their election would require the approval of at least seven provinces that represent 50 per cent of the population. Senators now serve until age 75.
4. The Senate is “one of Canada’s foundational political institutions” created by the Fathers of Confederation to be unelected and independent. Changing that would mean changing the Constitution.
5. The federal government’s arguments that it alone can change the Senate were almost all dismissed as “narrow” and “textual.”