When my father died in 1991 at 86, I found a handwritten note he’d sent to Senate administration. It said: “I had a message today which involved my calling Toronto. I don’t think the taxpayers should be paying for any long distance calls of mine. I’ll be glad to reimburse the Treasury for this one. Henceforth I’ll use the payphone downstairs.”
My dad, Senator Eugene Forsey, was principled and frugal. When I was growing up in Ottawa we walked everywhere or took the bus. We didn’t own a car. He was research director for the Canadian Labour Congress. It wasn’t a wealthy organization and he didn’t earn a whole lot.
He was born in Newfoundland and Labrador and studied the coal industry in Nova Scotia in the 1920s. By the time the Depression came around he was a democratic socialist, a founding member of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, the CCF.
He counted Conservatives among his friends. Arthur Meighen, former prime minister, was almost like a father to him. John Diefenbaker offered Dad a “safe” seat in Parliament but as a loyal CCFer he declined. He had run for the CCF in the 1940s but was defeated each time.
Pierre Trudeau appointed Dad to the Senate in 1970 because of his constitutional expertise, his progressive views and his integrity. Trudeau told him, “I don’t give a damn where you sit, I just want you there.” Dad accepted because he thought he could be of some use.
Many Canadians now see the Senate as a useless appendage. But my father always maintained that its work, though often unspectacular, contributed to a better functioning of government and democracy in general.
He thought senators should be independent of party discipline and he practiced what he preached. He sat with the Liberals to support their national unity policy but spoke and voted independently.
The Senate can be a place for men and women of merit with roots in their region and a keen interest in public affairs to apply their knowledge for the public good. Senate appointments should be merit-based and non-partisan, enabling senators to complement the legislative work of Commons MPs, protect minorities and the less powerful regions, and hold government to account.
In fact, a Senate that does its job is a major nuisance to an autocratic government that wants as little sober second thought as possible. If Eugene Forsey were here now he’d be working hard to restore the Senate to its rightful role in our democracy.
(Editor’s note: the author is Senator Forsey’s daughter. Ms. Forsey’s commentary was first published October 18, 2015)
