Mr. Speaker, a member in the upper house indicated, upon appointment, that reforming the upper chamber would be a chief priority. This member, Senator Carstairs, a former leader of the Liberal Party of Manitoba, said: “I think the Senate should be an elected institution”. She criticized Mr. Mulroney's appointment of one of his fundraisers in 1993.
We hope Senator Sharon Carstairs will take a principled stand and insist that she will go down in history as the last Manitoba Senator to be appointed, not elected. We hope Senator Carstairs will take a giant step toward reforming the upper chamber, that she will insist that Manitoba elect a Senator for the next vacancy.
The next vacancy will occur May 6, 1998, the date her Tory colleague is scheduled to retire.