Kenney outraged over Trudeau's Senate choice
Ottawa should have waited until Alberta voted for its own nominees, premier says
Premier Jason Kenney said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “showed contempt for democracy in Alberta” by appointing a “hand-picked representative of Alberta” to the Senate in advance of provincial elections.
On Thursday, Karen Sorensen resigned as mayor of Banff to represent Alberta in Ottawa after being chosen by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon. Sorensen was first elected to local politics in 2004, serving six years as a councillor, before she was elected Banff mayor in 2010, where she served for 11 years.
“I am humbled and incredibly honoured to be appointed to the Canadian Senate. After 17 years being privileged to serve the people of Banff, I am exhilarated to have this amazing opportunity in service to Canada,” Sorensen said.
“It is a tremendous responsibility to be asked to represent the province of Alberta at the federal level and I look forward to working hard to give voice to the diversity of groups that make up our nation.”
However, Kenney argued the federal government should have waited until after the province had a chance to vote for its own nominees.
“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,” Kenney said in a news release.
Last month, the Alberta assembly voted to urge Trudeau not to appoint senators for the two vacancies until after Alberta's senatorial election is held Oct. 18.
Senators are selected by the prime minister and Alberta cannot compel Trudeau to appoint preferred candidates.
Sorensen will fill one of two Alberta Senate seats left vacant after former senator Grant Mitchell stepped down last April, followed by former senator Elaine Mccoy in December.
According to Alberta's Municipal Government Act, a member of a municipal council is no longer eligible to hold elected office if they become a member of the Senate, the upper house of the Parliament of Canada.
Sorensen's appointment to the Senate and her departure from Banff town council comes near the end of council's 2017-21 term, with the next municipal general election to be held Oct. 18.
“While I never intended to leave the role of mayor before this term was complete, I am confident in the abilities of our very thoughtful and diverse council, and I am comforted knowing a municipal election is only a few months away. And while I will be spending part of my time in Ottawa, Banff has and will always have my heart,” said Sorensen, who announced late last year she would not seek another term as mayor.
In the meantime, Coun. Corrie Dimanno will take the role of deputy mayor, with Banff council discussing next steps at the Aug. 9 meeting.
Alberta Independent Sen. Paula Simons said she is “delighted” to have Sorensen join her in the Senate.
“I've made my frustration clear when I've spoken to various members of the Liberal cabinet and caucus about the need to fill these vacancies so that Alberta can have proper representation under the current constitutional framework,” Simons said.
The path to becoming a senator is a competitive process, Simons said. Anyone over the age of 30 who owns property in Alberta can apply to become a senator.
An independent advisory committee, put together in 2016, goes through the applications and creates a short list of nominees for the prime minister and Privy Council Office. Under the constitution, the Governor General then appoints individuals to the Senate.
“Long gone are the days when these were patronage appointments,” Simons said. “The idea of this appointment process is to make sure that the senators are truly independent.”
Simons said she sees common ground with Sorensen on a few initiatives based on past conversations, including rent relief for municipalities in national parks and establishing a train connecting Calgary to Banff.
Simons also sits on the Energy, Environment and Natural Resources committee, where she said Sorensen could play a role as well, while “Alberta's economy is in this time of difficult transition” as an energy-producing province.
Last year, Simons also created a working group of senators that were interested in municipal-federal relations, which would be another good fit for Sorensen given her years of first-hand experience.
“I'm excited to get her to join our working group and get her to be part of my inquiry.”