NEWS
Monday, October 27, 2014 17
Senate
» continued from cover
can be brought to the forefront. It’s a welcome idea for
the Senate, whose uses are generally convoluted, confusing, and unknown to the public.
When I asked about how the process for the new
website works, Senator Cowan explained that all
questions submitted are reviewed by the Liberal
caucus office, which selects appropriate questions to
bring to the floor. Those questions are then sent to a
senator who is well positioned, both in terms of experience and personal interest, to read the question.
Though the Senator seemed unclear on the exact vetting process for the questions, he stated confidently
that questions submitted by the public would make
their way into the upper chamber.
In the lead-up to my interview with the Senator,
I submitted my own question through the website.
Senator Cowan’s confidence proved justified, and my
question was brought to the floor in late September.
After the question was read, I received an email linking me to the audio recording of my question being
asked. It was actually quite neat to hear Senator
Jane Cordy ask my quest [ۋ[