Harper’s five Senate appointees back reform

New members of upper chamber include widow of former Conservative MP

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper has appointed five new senators to the upper chamber — including the Saskatchewan widow of a former Conservative member of Parliament who committed suicide after suffering from depression.

Also on the list of new senators, announced Friday, is a prominent Alberta Progressive Conservative fundraiser with connections to the energy industry who created controversy recently over his expense claims as chairman of the University of Calgary.

Harper’s latest appointments to the unelected chamber mean the Conservatives now hold 65 of the 105 Senate seats.

Harper’s office said all of the new senators have pledged to support the federal government’s Senatereform plans, including legislation to limit the term of senators to nine years and create a framework for provinces to voluntarily hold elections for Senate nominees.

The government’s Senate reform bill is at a standstill in the House of Commons but could eventually be passed and sent to the upper chamber, where it will then be up to the senators themselves to vote on reforming their own institution.

The bill will undoubtedly face opposition from Liberal senators, and even some Conservative senators, but the government’s Senate leader has expressed confidence that it will pass. The new senators are: Denise Batters, who fills a vacancy in Saskatchewan. The prime minister’s office describes her as an “experienced l awyer and mental health advocate.” In recent years, she was chief of staff to Saskatchewan’s justice minister.

Her husband, Dave Batters, was a former Conservative MP for the Saskatchewan riding of Pallister who left politics in 2008 after disclosing he suffered from anxiety and depression. The next year, he took his own life.

The prime minister’s office said Friday that Batters is a “strong supporter and champion of mental health and suicide prevention” who has raised funds in honour of her late husband.

On Friday, Batters told Postmedia News she will continue to pursue a greater public understanding of mental health issues and is thankful to the prime minister for the Senate appointment so she can represent Canadians on a variety of issues.

“Being in the Senate is something that I have always aspired to,” she said. “Dave would be beaming with pride today. He was never happier than when I had an amazing accomplishment.”

Batters said she supports the Senate-reform proposals, including the term limit, which she said would ensure a “steady renewal” in the upper chamber.

Doug Black, a senior law- yer in Calgary with the law firm Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP. He was elected to the position of senator-in-waiting in a provincial election last spring.

Black is the chair and founding president of the Energy Policy Institute of Canada, which comprises energy organizations from throughout the country.

Last year, Black was at the centre of a controversy after it was revealed that as chairman of the University of Calgary’s board of governors, he had claimed $28,000 in expenses for executiveclass travel, hotels, meals and drinks.

Lynn Beyak, a small-business owner in northern Ontario who has also been vicechair of a board of education in the region. Her work has included involvement in efforts to prevent violence in schools.

Victor Oh, a resident of Mississauga, Ont., and president of Wyford Holdings, a property development and management business. He is the founding chairman of the CanadaChina Business Communication Council.

David Wells, who has served as the deputy CEO of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board. A resident of St. John’s, he has held senior jobs in the business sector and government for more than 30 years.

All five appointments are effective immediately.