OTTAWA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Canadian government plans to introduce a bill this fall that will allow voters to directly elect senators, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday.
"Fulfilling our commitment to make the Senate more effective and more democratic, the government hopefully this fall will introduce a bill in the House to create a process to choose elected senators," Harper said before a Senate committee.
Harper came to the committee to push for passage of another Senate-related bill, which would set term limits for senators.
That bill, which was introduced last spring, will set eight-year term limits for senators, who are appointed by the government of the day and can serve until they are 75 years old.
The fact that senators can be appointed for terms of 15, 30, or even 45 years is not "acceptable to the broad mainstream of the Canadian community," he said.
The Senate legislation is part of Harper's government reform package, which also includes the proposed Accountability Act. Enditem
