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Canadian PM announces appointment of seven new senators

Xinhua, March 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Friday his appointment of seven new senators to Governor General David Johnston for approval.

The seven new senators will fill two vacancies in Manitoba province, three in Ontario province, and two in Quebec province. They are Raymonde Gagné and Justice Murray Sinclair for Manitoba, Peter Harder, Frances Lankin and Ratna Omidvar for Ontario, and Chantal Petitclerc and André Pratte for Quebec.

Over the last three months, the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments undertook broad consultations in Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec and provided Prime Minister Trudeau with a number of non-binding recommendations.

From that pool of candidates, Trudeau selected the seven new senators.

Trudeau also announced that he decided to appoint Peter Harder as government representative in the Senate, who will facilitate the introduction and consideration of government legislation, and will be sworn in as a Privy Councillor.

According to the prime minister, the government is taking further concrete steps to follow through on its commitment to reform the Senate, restore public trust, and bring an end to partisanship in the appointments process.

"The Senate appointments I have announced today will help advance the important objective to transform the Senate into a less partisan and more independent institution that can perform its fundamental roles in the legislative process more effectively," he said.

Taking into account Friday's announcement, there are 17 vacancies in the Senate of Canada. Up until Friday, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec have had the largest number of vacancies.

Under the Canadian constitution, senators are appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister of Canada and the Governor General approves them to the Senate. Enditem