Can a Senate full of independents work? Yes, but someone will have to organize them first. If this sounds like a contradiction, it is not. Even an independent Senate needs order and providing it won't be easy. The job appears to be Peter Harder's for the taking—if he decides he wants it.Harder, of course, has already been named Government Representative in the Senate, where he is supposed to “facilitate the introduction and consideration of Government legislation in the Senate.”Presumably, he's supposed to do what he can to ensure the legislative process works. If the government can't get its bills through the Senate, Parliament will grind to a halt. So what can he do?Coordination between the Commons and the Senate used to rely on party discipline. Senators were organized along party lines and control was exercised from the top down by caucus leaders. Some commentators believe this is still the only viable option.CBC's Terry Milewski, for example, seems openly skeptical of Harder's new job: "How do you whip [independents] into line when you don't have a whip?" he recently mused. Harder's reply did little to dispel the doubts: "I do not have a whip," he conceded, "the independence of the senators is ultimately what will determine their vote."Of course, Harder is right that if senators are independent, he can't whip them. But that doesn't mean they will be free to do as they please or that an independent Senate will be in constant peril of plunging into chaos. Party affiliation is not the only way to establish order and discipline.Canada's municipal governments are not organized along party lines, and they've been doing business for a couple of centuries. The territorial government in Nunavut has no parties and relies instead on consensus.The alternative to political hierarchy is to adopt a principled process that can guide debate toward constructive conclusions. In the Senate's case, however, this will be especially difficult. As only one of Parliament's two chambers, it faces a challenge that municipalities do not.Senators, notoriously, are unelected, so the Senate cannot be allowed to undermine the will of the democratically elected Commons. Independent senators must be able to challenge the Commons, but they must also know when to defer to it.As for Harder, if he wants to make the Senate work, his real job will be to develop a new system that draws these lines the right way and then get senators to adopt it—while using only moral suasion. So he has his work cut out for him. Fortunately, there are good reasons to think it can be done.First, public opinion will keep the Senate on a very short leash. Canadians are in no mood to tolerate shenanigans from unelected senators. This could be a powerful force for keeping them in line.Second, there's a growing caucus of independents, presently at 10, with 17 more to come soon. The new appointment process should produce a block of senators with a genuine commitment to renewal. In addition, Senate Liberals are coming to terms with their new status and want to be productive. Even Conservatives are talking about exercising greater independence.Third, there is a long-standing, constitutionally respectable vision of the Senate as the House of sober second thought. In this vision, the Senate's principal role is to review legislation and propose thoughtful amendments. If senators rallied around this vision, it could greatly assist them in rebuilding the Senate's credibility.Finally, Harder may not be Government Leader, but the prime minister has tasked him with promoting the integrity of the legislative process. This gives him a bully pulpit. His challenge is to use it to make the case, articulately and passionately, for an independent House of sober second thought.He could give some speeches on the new Senate. He could work with other senators to establish a committee to explore and discuss options to support change. The committee could call on outside experts to contribute to the discussion and publish the results. The Senate might even experiment with online tools to give the public a direct voice in the discussions.Whatever the tactics, the strategy is clear: build support and momentum for renewal by engaging senators and Canadians in a very public but constructive discussion on the Senate's future. Likely, other strong spokespersons will join in and rally around the new vision. This can't be a one-man job, even if Harder currently holds the talking stick.This also needs to happen quickly. Over the last two years, circumstances have created a window for change, but it won't be open long. If a new and viable process fails to emerge, either the opposition will begin to exploit the weakness of the legislative process or it will degenerate into a free-for-all.Either way, the government would have little choice but to reassert some control over it, likely by bringing Liberal senators back into the caucus. The Senate would then revert to the status quo ante.Lastly, let's note that, although the prime minister has appointed Harder Government Representative, he is not answerable to the government nor should he align himself with it. The Senate is an autonomous institution and Harder's job is to preserve that autonomy.In closing, we might wonder why Trudeau chose a career bureaucrat to carry out such an ambitious political task. There is some wisdom here. Harder comes to the role with no political baggage.Moreover, the job calls for the establishment of a new and far more collegial system of decision-making. As a long-time deputy minister, Harder is an expert in organizational change and his time at Foreign Affairs has given him first-hand experience with diplomacy. Both will be essential.In the end, however, the Senate is a political institution and the challenge ahead is, first and foremost, a political challenge. Harder must rally senators and Canadians around a cause. For this, he must think and talk like a political leader—albeit one for a new kind of political institution.I, for one, will be cheering him on.Dr. Don Lenihan is Senior Associate, Policy and Engagement, at Canada 2020, Canada's leading, independent progressive think-tank. Don is an internationally recognized expert on democracy and Open Government. He is currently the Government of Ontario's principal advisor on its Open Dialogue Initiative. The views expressed here are those of the columnist alone. Don can be reached at:[email protected] or follow him on Twitter at: @DonLenihan