Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives have taken a step closer to taking back control of the Senate with the appointment of five new Tory senators.
The government is still three seats shy of absolute control of the upper chamber.
But nominations announced late on Friday give the government a plurality of seats in the Senate, with 51 Conservatives versus 49 opposition Liberals, and five seats not aligned with either of the two major parties.
And the government could appoint its way to an absolute majority over the Liberals, which have dominated the Senate since 1997, with the retirement of three more senators expected later this year.
The latest appointments are another step toward implementing the government’s “tackling crime agenda” and its push for a democratically elected Senate, Harper said in a statement.
“The opposition have abused their Senate majority by obstructing and eviscerating law and order measures that are urgently needed and strongly supported by Canadians,” he said. “These new senators are committed to community safety and justice for the victims of crime.”
The obstruction allegation has been vehemently denied by the Liberals.
In fact, of 17 crime bills introduced in the last parliamentary session, only two were held up by the Senate for more than six months. The others died when Harper prorogued Parliament in December.
Regardless, the new balance of power in the Senate will give the Conservatives more sway in Parliament in the upcoming legislative session.
In the House, the Conservatives maintain a stubborn minority, opposed by three center-left parties that have twice failed to oust Harper in snap elections since he was first elected prime minister in June 2004.
With a stronger arm now in the Senate, the Conservatives are expected to try to further influence parliamentary debate, for example, in choosing who will steer powerful House and Senate committees.
Additionally, even if the Conservatives are beaten in the next election, a Conservative-controlled Senate could prove to be a thorn in the side of the victor by gutting or rejecting proposed legislation.
The new appointees are Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu, Bob Runciman, Vim Kochhar, Elizabeth Marshall and Rose-May Poirier.
They pledged to support Harper’s efforts to make the Senate more democratic and accountable, including eight-year term limits for senators and electing future senators in provincial ballots.
Under the current system, Canadian senators from various regions are appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister and can hold their seats until they turn 75.
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