Liberals are expected to appoint 20 new senators within weeks
Justin
Trudeau’s independent Senate gamble will be put to the test once
independent senators outnumber Conservatives and Liberals.
By Alex BoutilierOttawa Bureau Reporter
Tues., Sept. 20, 2016https://www.thestar.com/news/c
OTTAWA—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to name 20 new “non-affiliated” or “independent” senators in a matter of weeks.
The government had pledged to fill the remaining Senate vacancies, including six for Ontario, by the end of the year. But a source familiar with the process said the Liberals want to move quickly to fill those 20 seats.
The move would mean that, for the first time in the Senate’s history, non-affiliated senators will outnumber their Conservative or Independent Liberal counterparts with a plurality of seats. And it will also put to the test Trudeau’s gamble to make the upper chamber more respectable in the eyes of Canadians.
Peter Harder, the Liberal government’s representative in the Senate, expects recommendations from an arm’s-length advisory board on Senate appointments to land on the prime minister’s desk within weeks.
“I think the new senators will give an added impetus of change or reform and renewal to the institution,” Harder said in an interview Monday.
The government had pledged to fill the remaining Senate vacancies, including six for Ontario, by the end of the year. But a source familiar with the process said the Liberals want to move quickly to fill those 20 seats.
The move would mean that, for the first time in the Senate’s history, non-affiliated senators will outnumber their Conservative or Independent Liberal counterparts with a plurality of seats. And it will also put to the test Trudeau’s gamble to make the upper chamber more respectable in the eyes of Canadians.
Peter Harder, the Liberal government’s representative in the Senate, expects recommendations from an arm’s-length advisory board on Senate appointments to land on the prime minister’s desk within weeks.
“I think the new senators will give an added impetus of change or reform and renewal to the institution,” Harder said in an interview Monday.
“This
is a change in progress. The modernization of this institution to make
it an independent, non-partisan, accountable, transparent and
complimentary body is a work in progress. And we’re looking for
opportunities to work with all senators to achieve that objective.”
Against the backdrop of the Senate expense scandal in January 2014, Trudeau, then in opposition, announced that Liberal senators would no longer be welcome to caucus with their House of Commons colleagues.
After the Liberals took power two years later, Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef put in place a new arm’s-length system to appoint senators, rather than picking from the usual ranks of party stalwarts, fundraisers, and friendly journalists or lawyers.
Against the backdrop of the Senate expense scandal in January 2014, Trudeau, then in opposition, announced that Liberal senators would no longer be welcome to caucus with their House of Commons colleagues.
After the Liberals took power two years later, Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef put in place a new arm’s-length system to appoint senators, rather than picking from the usual ranks of party stalwarts, fundraisers, and friendly journalists or lawyers.
In March, Trudeau appointed seven new senators, including Harder, former provincial NDP cabinet minister Frances Lankin, and Ratna Omidvar representing Ontario.
With the new batch of senators appointed, Trudeau will have appointed 27 to the upper chamber in his first year in power. Former prime minister Stephen Harper appointed 59 over almost a decade in power, but that number was kept low by Harper’s steadfast refusal to appoint new senators while the expense scandal embroiled his government.
Conservative Senator Leo Housakos, a former Senate Speaker and chair of the chamber’s powerful internal economy committee, said that he’s heard the new appointments will be made “imminently.”
Housakos, a critic of the Liberals’ Senate proposal, said the new dynamic in the upper chamber will make the operations of that place more difficult.
“The difficulty, and they’re starting to recognize it themselves, is that it’s hard to operate in the British parliamentary system without clusters and caucuses,” Housakos said in an interview Tuesday.
“A lot of the decision (about) who sits on (Senate) committees are taken by caucuses, are taken by collectively within groups of like-minded senators.
So when someone says that a senator is independent, do you think that Justin Trudeau is going to be appointing to the Senate right-of-centre politically minded people? Or do you think there’s a great likelihood that, like the last batch, he will be appointing left-of-centre, social liberal-minded individuals?”
The Star requested comment from the Prime Minister’s Office for this article, asking whether Trudeau has made his selections or when those decisions will be made. In response, the Privy Council Office — public servants who support the prime minister — suggested the final decisions had not yet been made.
“The process being led by the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments is ongoing,” PCO spokesperson Raymond Rivet wrote in a statement.
“The government has indicated that it intends to fill the current Senate vacancies by the end of 2016.”
With the new batch of senators appointed, Trudeau will have appointed 27 to the upper chamber in his first year in power. Former prime minister Stephen Harper appointed 59 over almost a decade in power, but that number was kept low by Harper’s steadfast refusal to appoint new senators while the expense scandal embroiled his government.
Conservative Senator Leo Housakos, a former Senate Speaker and chair of the chamber’s powerful internal economy committee, said that he’s heard the new appointments will be made “imminently.”
Housakos, a critic of the Liberals’ Senate proposal, said the new dynamic in the upper chamber will make the operations of that place more difficult.
“The difficulty, and they’re starting to recognize it themselves, is that it’s hard to operate in the British parliamentary system without clusters and caucuses,” Housakos said in an interview Tuesday.
“A lot of the decision (about) who sits on (Senate) committees are taken by caucuses, are taken by collectively within groups of like-minded senators.
So when someone says that a senator is independent, do you think that Justin Trudeau is going to be appointing to the Senate right-of-centre politically minded people? Or do you think there’s a great likelihood that, like the last batch, he will be appointing left-of-centre, social liberal-minded individuals?”
The Star requested comment from the Prime Minister’s Office for this article, asking whether Trudeau has made his selections or when those decisions will be made. In response, the Privy Council Office — public servants who support the prime minister — suggested the final decisions had not yet been made.
“The process being led by the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments is ongoing,” PCO spokesperson Raymond Rivet wrote in a statement.
“The government has indicated that it intends to fill the current Senate vacancies by the end of 2016.”
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