QUESTION PERIOD — Privy Council Office
Senate Appointments
October 18, 2022
My question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. Today we welcomed Senator Osler to this chamber. She’s the nine hundred eighty-seventh person to be summoned to sit in the Senate of Canada since Confederation.
I think it’s an appropriate occasion to point out the 15 empty seats that remain in this chamber today; some have been vacant for a long time. In fact, one of British Columbia’s six seats in this chamber has been empty for over 1,000 days.
One of the six seats in my home province of Alberta has been unfilled for nearly two years. This is a big problem for a chamber that was created to guarantee regional representation in our Parliament.
It’s a different situation in the other place, as you would know, leader. A by-election must be called to fill a vacant seat within six months in the other place.
Would the government support a similar process for the Senate whereby the Prime Minister must recommend an appointment to this chamber when a seat is vacant for more than six months?
Thank you for your question.
We all look forward to having more Senate appointments announced so as to continue to receive senators, colleagues, of the quality that we need to do our work.
The process that this Prime Minister has introduced, a process whereby candidates are identified and vetted, is a different process. It is one that involves not simply an application process for those before it, but the constitution — in each and every region and province — of a committee jointly composed of two provincial or territorial representatives and three named by the government.
In some cases, though not all, the delay in appointments is a function of the failure of one of the jurisdictions to name their members to the committee. In other cases, frankly, it is just a function of the time that the process seems to take, and it’s longer than most of us would want.
I do not believe that your proposal is something that would find favour with the government, because it runs counter to the merit-based and participatory process not only of Canadians but of the committees that vet them.
However, it is always possible to improve processes. I will take your suggestion back to my colleagues in government so that they can reflect upon it further.
I agree with you, Senator Gold: The process that this government has undertaken is unprecedented and has created extra value with the candidates who have come.
I hope you’re not saying that it’s satisfactory in any way, or that somehow a province is at fault, it’s out of the government’s control or that it’s okay for a seat to sit vacant for 1,000 days or, in my case, two years.
No, I was not saying that everything is okay.
I regret that we still have the vacancies that we do. I look forward eagerly to announcements. It is, unfortunately, the case that the situation in every province differs and that, in some cases, the committees were slow to be constituted. As a result, the process has taken longer. I am choosing not to name names, because that would be unfair.
The process has more levels and layers to it, and is somewhat more time-consuming than previous processes. I join you in looking forward to filling our vacancies as quickly as possible.
