BARRHEAD-WESTLOCK-Peace River-Westlock Canadian Conservative Party MP Arnold Viersen has added his voice of disapproval to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's announcement of the appointment of Banff mayor Karen Sorenson to the Senate.
Trudeau announced Sorenson's appointment on June 29 along with four other Senate nominees, including Michèle Audette, Amina Gerba who will represent Quebec, while David Arnot will represent Saskatchewan as independants.
"It is truly frustrating because he knows we are holding Senate elections as part of the municipal and [school] trustee election in the fall," Viersen said on Aug. 4. "For him to fill the vacancy just in front of that election and a possible upcoming federal election. It is just another example of the Prime Minister disregarding the will of Albertans on a whole list of things."
In June, Premier Jason Kenney confirmed that Albertans would be voting for the two vacant seats in the upper chamber. The seats were left vacant after former senator Grant Mitchell resigned in April of 2020. Senator Elaine McCoy died last December. In total, Albertans were to vote for three potential senators. Two to replace the vacancies and another who would wait in the wings in case another senator retires early or cannot fulfill their term.
Under the constitution, it is the Governor-General (GG) that appoints individuals to the Senate. But as a matter of convention, the appointments are made on the advice of the Prime Minister.
In 2015, the Trudeau led-Liberal government changed the process in which the Prime Minister makes his recommendation to the GG with the help of an arm’s length advisory board that vets applicants and creates a list of potential Senate nominees for the PM to recommend. The government argues that this creates an independent, merit-based selection process.
Viersen said he is not arguing whether Sorensen is a worthy candidate, admitting he does not know a lot of her background or qualifications.
"That is not the point. We are going to have an election for Senate and he should have respected that," he said.
Sorensen is currently in her third term as mayor. Before that, she spent six years as a town councillor and four years as a school board trustee.
Previously she had spent 17 years working in the hotel industry in Ontario, B.C. and Alberta. She was also was named Alberta Centennial Ambassador in 2005 and a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and YWCA Banff 2019 Woman of Distinction Award.
To persuade the Prime Minister not to intervene in the province's Senate election for the remaining vacancy, Viersen has written a letter to Trudeau "demanding that Albertans' democratic choice be respected." He also encourages Albertans to pen their own letter to the Prime Minister.
"He can do what he wants to do with the rest of the country. But in Alberta, we have and will continue to vote for their senators," he said, referring to the fact that since 1989, Albertans on four occasions have selected their choice for Senate.
Premier's reaction
In a July 30 statement, Kenney said that the Prime Minister showed contempt for democracy in Alberta "by appointing a hand-picked representative of Alberta to the Senate of Canada" in advance of the province's Senate elections.
He goes on to state that he informed the Prime Minister personally at a July 7 meeting in Calgary of the province's intentions to hold elections for Senate nominees in October.
Kenney also added “As a forum for representation of regional interests, the Senate plays a vital role in our federation. It is essential that Senators have a mandate from Albertans to ensure that they actually defend our vital economic interests, as elected Senators Scott Tannas and Doug Black did in defending Alberta from federal intrusion into our exclusive constitutional jurisdiction to develop our resources by fighting the No More Pipeline’s law (Bill C-69) and the tanker bank (Bill C-48).”
"The Prime Minister’s decision shows contempt for democratic decision-making, and for Alberta voters in particular," Kenney stated in the release. “Sadly, the Prime Minister’s decision to snub his nose at Alberta’s democratic tradition is part of a pattern of flippantly disregarding our province’s demands for a fair deal in the Canadian federation and the desire of Albertans for democratic accountability.”
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
