Most seats in the Senate are vacant

Vacancies are piling up in the (Ottawa) Senate. Currently, 16 of the total 105 seats in the upper house are vacant, and at least two senators are expected to retire this year.

Posted at 5:00 am.

Experts believe that this situation will slow down the pace of parliamentary work unless Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes new appointments soon. Because the Senate plays an important role in scrutinizing bills proposed by the government and passed by the House of Commons. Senators must comb through all bills before they can go into effect after receiving royal assent from Governor General Mary Simon.

“It is disturbing to see that there are so many holidays. This could slow down the work of the Senate. 16 seats out of 105 are not unusual,” argued Professor Genevieve Dellier of the University of Ottawa’s School of Political Studies.

Instead of having 16 new ones come in at once, ensure that senators are constantly replaced. There is also that to manage. Even senators who were appointed two or three years ago, they still have things to learn.

Genevieve Dellier is a professor in the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa

Vacancies can slow down the work of committees that dissect government bills and hear witnesses.

The Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to queries Pres About empty spaces at the time of writing this.

All provinces except Manitoba have at least one vacancy. The Atlantic provinces are the most affected. For example, Prince Edward Island, which is entitled to four seats in the Senate, has two vacancies. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia each have three vacancies, accounting for a third of their seats. These two provinces have 10 seats each in the Upper House.

Currently, there are only one vacancy in Quebec and two in Ontario. Other vacancies are in Alberta (2), British Columbia (1), Saskatchewan (1) and Newfoundland and Labrador (1). In 2024, another 10 seats will be left vacant by retiring senators.

After coming to power in 2015, Justin Trudeau changed the formula for appointing senators. The prime minister called on Canadians to apply to become senators instead of hiring people who have worked for the party for years as fundraisers or campaign organizers. So far, Mr. Trudeau has appointed 59 senators using this formula.

“The appointment system has changed. Mr. Trudeau appeals to everyone. No problems lately. Suggestions are greatly appreciated. Mr. Trudeau wanted to revitalize and diversify the Senate, and he did. Today the percentage of Aboriginal senators exceeds the percentage of Aboriginal people in the population. Many boxes are checked. But if senators cannot be appointed quickly, it will be a problem,” said Ms.^methe teller

“Imbalance”

The 16 vacancies are 15.2% of all seats in the Senate. By comparison, using the same ratio in the 338-member House of Commons would leave 51 seats vacant. In the Commons, the Prime Minister has six months to announce a by-election when a member vacates his seat. In the Senate, there is no deadline for filling vacancies.

At the end of his last term, former Prime Minister Stephen Harper decided against appointing new senators following an expenses scandal that affected some of the senators he had appointed.

Former President of the Senate, the late Pierre-Claude Nolin, then Mr. He urged Harper to fill the vacancies. He noted that the absence of senators from certain regions had the effect of creating an “imbalance” that was detrimental to the proper functioning of the institution.