Prime Minister Stephen Harper has named five new members of the Senate, according to a Friday statement.
They are:
- Denise Batters (Saskatchewan)
- Lynn Beyak (Ontario)
- Doug Black (Alberta)
- Victor Oh (Ontario)
- David Wells (Newfoundland and Labrador)
One vacant seat from British Columbia remains to be filled.
Batters is the widow of former Conservative MP Dave Batters, who took his own life in 2009.
Senate Reform
All five pledged to support the government's Senate reform plan, first introduced in the House of Commons in June 2011.
Provincial governments would have the option to consult voters and pass along potential nominees for Senate appointments.
Provinces wouldn’t be required to participate, and any submitted names would not be binding. The prime minister would still make the final recommendation to the Governor General, who has the constitutional responsibility to appoint senators.
Black won Alberta's Senate nominee election this spring.
Senators appointed after the 2008 election would be subject to nine-year term limits from the date of the bill’s passing. The term is not renewable, and would not start over if interrupted, such as when Senators Fabian Manning and Larry Smith resigned to unsuccessfully seek election to the House of Commons this spring.
The retirement age would remain 75, regardless of when the Senator was appointed.
-Andrew Thomson
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