Red Chamber Renaissance

For critics of Canada's federal system, the word "senator" really means "sinecure." The nation's upper chamber is perceived by some as an old boys' club where political hacks are put out to pasture. Their appointments are rewards for years of service to a political party, and in return they're expected to turn up occasionally, doze through dull debate and rubber stamp proposed legislation. Oh yeah? Meet three recent Senate appointees -- all McGill alumnae -- who are energetic, accomplished and hardworking. And who are turning an outdated perception on its ear.

Take Joan Fraser, BA'65. As a journalist all her working life, she never had any formal political affiliations. She started as a reporter at the Montreal Gazette, then joined the Financial Times of Canada for 11 years. She returned to the Gazette as editorial page editor (1978-93), then as editor (1993-96). During her tenure, the paper naturally took politicians to task and hurled potshots at the institution of the Senate, although it never joined the calls for outright abolition.

After leaving the Gazette, she took on the post of research director for the Council of Canadian Unity, a body which declares its mandate to be "to enhance Canadians' understanding of the nature and workings of the country's institutions." The CCU calls itself non-partisan, a term some Quebec politicians have disputed since the mission is further described as one of increasing understanding of "federalism's advantages." The CCU's research arm conducts opinion polls, analyzes political, social and economic trends and, says Fraser, "presents the results to anybody who will sit still for them."

Although it was a career path that gave her an excellent knowledge of the workings of government, it hardly marked her as a candidate for a patronage appointment. In fact, Fraser says she was "floored" when the call came from the Prime Minister's Office in 1998 asking her consent to be placed on a short list for a Senate seat.

"If you say yes, that means that if you're chosen then you're going to do it, so I said I needed to discuss this with my husband. I got the impression that the person on the other end was a bit surprised -- most people apparently don't say, 'Give me time to think about this.'

"The caller outlined the job to me -- the hours, the basic pay, the rules. After supper I sat down with my husband and said, 'Now don't interrupt. I got this call...' and I proceeded to outline the reasons why it would be really wrong for me to become a senator from the family's point of view." (The couple has two daughters.) My husband listened with a strange expression on his face and when I finally wound down, he said, 'Are you crazy? You have to take this.'"

So Fraser became a member of what Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, dubbed a chamber "of sober second thought." It's the job of senators to examine and revise legislation passed to them from the House of Commons; to investigate national issues, which they can do by establishing committees and calling witnesses to testify; and to represent regional, provincial and minority interests. Senators often amend proposed bills, but seldom reject them outright, although in 1988 they did refuse to pass the Free Trade Agreement until the question had been submitted to the people in a general election.

Another 1998 appointee was Vivienne Poy, BA'62, a fashion designer, entrepreneur and author, who is also in the middle of a PhD program in history. She was as surprised as Fraser by the call from the Prime Minister's Office: "It was like a bolt of lightning -- but a nice one."

For many years she ran a successful retail and clothing manufacturing business from Toronto. She has always been active in supporting the arts and education -- including serving on McGill's Board of Governors -- but she's still not sure how that led to her Senate nomination. "At the time, I asked the appointment officer, and he said a number of people close to the Prime Minister had put up my name. What the requirements are, I don't know. I've always just done my own thing and I'm happy."

As the first woman of Chinese descent named to the Senate -- her sister-in-law Adrienne Clarkson was appointed Canada's Governor General the following year -- Poy says she felt extra responsibility. "Even though I'm a senator from Ontario, the moment I was appointed, I was adopted right across the country, especially by Chinese Canadians. That's why I travel a lot speaking, attending functions, doing a whole lot of things that involve the Chinese-Canadian community. I'm also involved with groups of immigrant women from every ethnic background in Calgary. Many women's groups call on me as well as ethnic groups."

Poy, who was born in Hong Kong, says her appointment even changed the focus of her doctoral dissertation. "I was going to write on aspects of the Chinese in Hong Kong, but since being named to the Senate, I decided it was Canada that I should concentrate on. I'm now looking at how changes in our immigration laws affected the lives of immigrant Chinese women. Immigration is a very important issue for minorities in this country. Depending on where you come from -- Britain, say -- if you want to be a Canadian you arrive and you fit right in. But for someone who is a visible minority, your family can be here for four generations and you're still treated as a foreigner."