User blog comment:ML4E/Canadian Federal Election 2011/@comment-21519-20110330035142/@comment-130447-20110331190047

Senators are appointed for life with a mandatory retirement at age 75. The Conservatives want an elected Senate with a single eight year term but has not had much success in implementing it. In my view, it would require a constitutional amendment but Harper seems to think he can do it through legislation.

While the Commons is dissolved, Harper continues to lead a caretaker government. Obviously he can't bring forward legislation and any unpassed bills died with the dissolution of parliament but the government can still implement policy changes though so called "Order in Council" decelerations. These are nominally decrees by the G-G on the recomendation of the privy council and are limited to what existing laws allow. Meantime, the bureaucracy continues to operate under the previous budget.