QUESTION PERIOD — Prime Minister’s Office
Senate Appointments
December 15, 2021
My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate, but if I may, I’d like to first wish happy holidays to all of my colleagues in the Senate and all the staff. I wish you a healthy and safe holiday season.
Since 2016, Senate applications have been reviewed by an independent advisory board. This independent and non-partisan body is mandated to:
. . . provide non-binding merit-based recommendations to the Prime Minister on Senate nominations.
In establishing a list of candidates, the board members seek to support the Government of Canada’s intent “to ensure representation of . . . linguistic, minority and ethnic communities in the Senate.”
On May 27, 2021, in response to a question I asked the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, the then President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, he told the chamber, and I quote:
We recognize the importance of making sure these communities are properly represented as senators are appointed. The Prime Minister is absolutely willing to do that. . . . I am confident that we may see other Acadians appointed to the Senate, and that they will not just come from our province of New Brunswick, but from other provinces as well.
However, Nova Scotia has had no Acadian representation in the Senate ever since the Honourable Gérald Comeau retired on November 30, 2013, a first since 1907. Newfoundland and Labrador, meanwhile, has never had a francophone Senate representative. Prince Edward Island has no Acadian representation, and Northern New Brunswick, a region often forgotten by our elected officials, has been without a Senate representative since Senator Paul McIntyre retired.
Given the exceptional expertise of many Acadians in Atlantic Canada, and considering the number of Senate vacancies, when does the Prime Minister plan to recommend senators from the Acadian and francophone communities of the Atlantic provinces to the Governor General of Canada?
Thank you for your question, Senator Cormier. As we know, the Senate has a long history of defending official language communities. I applaud the efforts and the activism of our predecessors and of our colleagues in this chamber who carry that torch, including several representatives from the Maritimes.
The Government of Canada seeks to appoint outstanding people to the Senate, while reflecting our country’s diversity. The government is also following through on its commitment to build a more effective, more independent and less partisan Senate. Part of that commitment involves the process that you mentioned, namely the independent, non-partisan advisory board that makes recommendations to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister then presents his recommendations to the Governor General.
I have been assured that the independent appointment process is working well and that we need to wait for the results of the next cycle to find out who will be appointed from the Maritime provinces.
