Editing Senate of Canada (section)

===Vacancies===
There is some debate as to whether there is any requirement for the prime minister to advise the governor general to appoint new senators to fill vacancies as they arise. In 2014, [[Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada)|Leader of the Opposition]] [[Tom Mulcair]] argued that there is no constitutional requirement to fill vacancies. Constitutional scholar [[Peter Hogg]] has commented that the courts "might be tempted to grant a remedy" if the refusal to recommend appointments caused the Senate to be diminished to such a degree that it could not do its work or serve its constitutional function.<ref>–{{cite news|title=Stephen Harper obliged to fill empty Senate seats?|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/is-stephen-harper-obliged-to-fill-empty-senate-seats-1.2701619|access-date=December 10, 2014|publisher=CBC News|date=July 10, 2014}}</ref>

Vancouver lawyer Aniz Alani filed an application for judicial review of Prime Minister [[Stephen Harper]]'s apparent refusal to advise the appointment of senators to fill existing vacancies in 2014, arguing that the failure to do so violates the ''Constitution Act, 1867''.<ref>–{{cite news|title=Stephen Harper's unappointed Senate seats unconstitutional, Vancouver lawyer says|url=http://www.cbc.ca/m/news/canada/british-columbia/stephen-harper-s-unappointed-senate-seats-unconstitutional-vancouver-lawyer-says-1.2873629 |access-date=December 18, 2014|publisher=CBC News|date=December 15, 2014}}</ref>

On July 24, 2015, Harper announced that he would not be advising the governor general to fill the 22 vacancies in the Senate, preferring that the provinces "come up with a plan of comprehensive reform or to conclude that the only way to deal with the status quo is abolition". He declined to say how long he would allow vacancies to accumulate.<ref name="chase">{{cite news |last1=Chase |first1=Stephen |title=Harper not planning to appoint more senatoTrs despite growing vacancies |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/harper-no-immediate-plans-to-appoint-more-senators/article13937317/ |website=The Globe and Mail |access-date=4 February 2020 |date=2018-05-11}}</ref> Under the ''Constitution Act, 1867'', senators are appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister. If no such advice is forthcoming, according to constitutional scholar [[Adam Dodek]], in "extreme cases, there is no question that the Governor General would be forced to exercise such power [of appointment] without advice".<ref>Adam Dodek, "PM's constitutional disobedience a dangerous game to play", ''The Globe and Mail'', July 28, 2015.</ref>

On December 5, 2015, the new Liberal government announced a new merit-based appointment process, using specific new criteria as to eligibility for the Senate. Independent applicants, not affiliated with any political party, will be approved by a new five-member advisory board (to be in place by year end), a reform that was intended to begin eliminating the partisan nature of the Senate.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/senate-advisory-board-non-partisan-leblanc-monsef-1.3348531 |title=Liberal plan to pick 'non-partisan' senators draws quick criticism B.C. Premier Christy Clark slams reforms |last=Harris|first=Kathleen |date=December 3, 2015 |publisher=CBC News |access-date=December 4, 2015}}</ref> At the time, there were 22 vacancies in the Senate. On April 12, 2016, seven new senators were sworn in, including Prime Minister [[Justin Trudeau]]'s hand-picked [[Representative of the Government in the Senate]], [[Peter Harder (politician)|Peter Harder]].

A series of additional appointments were announced for October and November 2016 that would fill all vacancies. Once these senators were summoned, the independent non-aligned senators became more numerous than either of the party caucuses for the first time in the Senate's history. The independent senator group also grew to include over half the total number of senators.

On December 12, 2018, the four remaining vacancies were filled in Nova Scotia, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Ontario. With these appointments, the Senate had a full complement of senators for the first time in over eight years.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-names-four-more-senators-1.4942729 |title=Trudeau names four new senators – including a failed Liberal candidate |publisher=CBC News|date=December 12, 2018|last=Tasker |first=John Paul }}</ref>