So here we go again, apparently: another round of pondering Senate reform, a subject that animates a few Canadians and bores the rest.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, harkening back to his former Reform Party days, wants to alter the Senate. The precise details of his true intentions aren't known, but there is talk of an elected Senate, or a limitation of the terms of senatorial appointments.

If he can't get reform, the Prime Minister has warned, he might seek abolition of the Senate, an outcome already supported by the federal NDP and premiers of a handful of provinces.