The move would allow him to leave a mark on Parliament for years to come, as these unelected legislators will be able to sit until the age of 75.
A source familiar with the matter says that the selection process for the future senators is already underway and should be completed before his departure. After proroguing Parliament earlier this month, Trudeau announced that he will leave power after the Liberal Party chooses a new leader on March 9.
In a written response, the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that the advisory board for Senate appointments is at work to propose candidates for all vacancies.
***This comment was based on the previous headline – Trudeau plans on stacking Senate before retiring: source
What a stupid headline. Insinuating that Trudeau is the only PM doing this is beyond the pale … because every former PM has done the same.
This is setting aside the fact that the Senate, being appointed rather than elected, has almost always set aside partisan politics in order to act as a check on the current parliament.
The headline has since been changed:
Trudeau to fill Senate vacancies before retiring: source
Thanks for the heads up.
I think you are reading into the headline to get so offended by it.
Edit: I didn’t see the original headline, and I agree that it was stupid.
And many of us think they aren’t.
The headline isn’t stupid in a vacuum, but it implies things that are demonstrably false and others that are just known fact.
My takeaway was “why were there vacant seats?” And neither the headline nor the article cover that.
The government is tasked with keeping those seats filled. The reason to keep them vacant is usually to concentrate senate power in a smaller number of individuals who are easier to influence. Filling those seats is a GOOD thing to prevent abuse of elected power, unless there’s provable evidence that the senate is being stacked with hyperpartisan people in a manner that skews to a particular political ideology. That doesn’t appear to be happening here.