Senator says growing list of vacancies signals 'the end of an era' for independence

Senators sit in the Senate of Canada Building in Ottawa, on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

OTTAWA — Senators say they’re concerned about the growing list of vacancies in the upper chamber, as the appointment process for new members remains unclear.

There are currently nine vacant seats in the Senate, with six more senators due to retire by the end of 2026. Prime Minister Mark Carney has not appointed any senators since taking office last spring.

The federal government’s website says there are also 24 vacancies on the independent advisory board for Senate appointments, the body that provides non-binding, merit-based recommendations to the prime minister.

New applications and nominations for Senate appointments through the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments website aren’t currently being accepted.

Non-affiliated Sen. Marilou McPhedran told The Canadian Press she’s convinced the vacancies point to “the end of an era.”

“This is the end of senators being appointed through what is largely a community-driven selection process at arm’s length from the patronage of the Prime Minister’s Office,” she said. “It’s going to go back to cronyism.”

She said patronage is a much more efficient way to govern, and that Carney is “nothing if not efficient.”

Since last May, the federal government has not directly answered repeated questions from The Canadian Press about how the next appointments will be made.

Pierre Cuguen, a spokesperson for the Privy Council Office, said in April that information regarding senate appointments will be made available “in due course.”

McPhedran said the independent advisory board for Senate appointments, which was created in 2016, has essentially already been “dismantled.”

“It’s not functional with the number of vacancies that have been allowed and it’s obviously not functional if the one and only mechanism for people who want to serve as independent senators to apply is dismantled too,” she said. “A shift was already taking place, and this is just going to be an accelerated, quiet change.”

McPhedran, who is set to retire from the Senate this summer, said it makes her “really angry” to think about impact of the changes on Canadians.

“My fear is about what’s going to show up three to five years from now as a result of what’s being done now in the Parliament of Canada,” she said. “I don’t see any serious attention being paid to the risks to our democracy.”

Bernadette Clement, who sits as an independent senator, said she’s also concerned about the vacancies.

“When we don’t have a full roster or as close to a full roster as possible, I always feel like we have fewer perspectives from the region, the province that they represent,” she said, adding that she’s also worried about racial representation. “I can feel that in chamber, particularly at committee though.”

Clement said she and other senators don’t have a “direct” answer to how appointments are being made under the current Liberal government.

“We are waiting to understand how that’s going to happen in the future, especially with the mounting number of vacancies,” she said. “We are so focused on economic issues and affordability issues, as we should be... It means sometimes that other things are not as much of a priority.”

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press