LETTERS TO THE EDITOR — Sharing Senate seats

Forestry, mining and tourism are being handed from one government to another. The status quo of Northern Ontario resource-based communities may be eroded through the constitutional negotiations in natural resource jurisdiction.

The resource-rich provinces of Alberta and the Maritimes have advocated for a new Senate structure:

— the Senate will have the absolute right over certain natural resource legislation and

— the Senators will be selected according to each provincial legislature decision.

The Senate model would establish a new balance in Parliament by giving the less populous provinces more clout in the legislative process. The new regional structure of the Senate must be carried into Ontario. Equal sharing of Senate seats between Ontario’s northern and southern regions will reflect the importance of natural resources.

Judy Skidmore

Espanola, Ont.