Harper’s five Senate appointees back reform plan
Widow of ex-mp who killed himself among five recruits
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has appointed five new senators — including the widow of a former Tory MP who committed suicide after suffering from depression.
Also on the list of new senators, announced Friday, is a top Alberta Progressive Conservative fundraiser with connections to the energy industry who drew 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. His office said all the new senators have pledged to support the government’s Senate-reform 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 face opposition from Liberal senators, and even some Conservatives, but the government’s Senate leader has expressed confidence it will pass.
The new senators are:
❚ Denise Batters, who fills a vacancy in Saskatchewan. The prime minister’s office describes her an “experienced lawyer and mental health advocate.” In recent years, she was chief of staff to Saskatchewan’s justice minister. Her husband, Dave Batters, was a former MP for 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.
❚ Doug Black, a senior lawyer 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 chair and founding president of the Energy Policy Institute of Canada, which is comprised of energy organizations from throughout the country. Last year, he was at the centre of controversy after it was revealed that as chair of the University of Calgary’s board of governors, he had claimed $28,000 in expenses for executive-class travel, hotels, meals and drinks.
❚ Lynn Beyak, a small-business owner in Northern Ontario who has also been vicechair of a board of education. Her work has included involvement in efforts to prevent violence in schools.
❚ Victor Oh, a resident of Mississauga 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, N.L., he has held senior jobs in the business sector and government for more than 30 years.