Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
Health

Lawyer Aniz Alani Offers To Drop Court Case If PM Trudeau Agrees To Senate Vacancy Time Limit

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 02 Mar, 2016 12:50 PM
  • Lawyer Aniz Alani Offers To Drop Court Case If PM Trudeau Agrees To Senate Vacancy Time Limit
OTTAWA — A Vancouver lawyer who has filed a constitutional challenge over prolonged Senate vacancies is willing to drop the suit if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agrees to set clear timelines for filling empty seats in the upper house.
 
Ideally, Aniz Alani wants the prime minister to pass legislation stipulating that Senate seats be filled within six months of falling vacant.
 
But at a minimum, he wants Trudeau to make it clear that he does not agree with predecessor Stephen Harper's view that the prime minister has unfettered discretion to fill Senate seats when — or if — he chooses.
 
If Trudeau does that and sets out a timeline for filling vacancies, Alani says in a letter to the prime minister that he's willing to save taxpayers the expense of a continued court challenge.
 
Alani filed his case 14 months ago, after Harper expressed no interest in filling the 16 vacancies which had piled up since he last appointed a senator in March 2013.
 
By the time Trudeau took office last fall, the number of vacancies in the 105-seat chamber had risen to 22; another two seats have fallen vacant since then while Trudeau's fledgling government is in the process of launching a new arm's-length, merit-based process for appointing non-partisan senators.
 
"Never since Confederation has there been as many empty seats as exists today," Alani says in his letter to Trudeau.
 
 
"While most of those vacancies accumulated before you took office as prime minister, the fact remains that the level of representation guaranteed by the Constitution has worsened, not improved, during your watch."
 
Alani acknowledges that Trudeau is committed to filling Senate seats, based on the recommendations of a newly created, independent, Senate advisory board. The board is expected to soon recommend nominees to fill five vacancies, with the remainder to be filled over the course of the year.
 
While he applauds the new process, Alani says it's still "an experiment in its very early stages" and he notes that the government seems to be proceeding "cautiously," leaving a number of provinces with considerably less than their constitutionally guaranteed representation in the Senate.
 
He asks that Trudeau publicly explain whether he agrees that the Constitution requires Senate vacancies to be filled within a reasonable time — the same declaration Alani is seeking from the courts.
 
"Waiting for the courts to consider weighing in is not the only option and it's certainly not the most cost-effective option," Alani says in the letter.
 
"As prime minister, you are uniquely positioned to set standards for when Senate vacancies will be filled now and in the future."

MORE Health ARTICLES

Sixth Raccoon Rabies Case Confirmed In Ontario

Sixth Raccoon Rabies Case Confirmed In Ontario
HAMILTON — A sixth case of raccoon rabies has been found in Hamilton.

Sixth Raccoon Rabies Case Confirmed In Ontario

Flu Season Is Off To A Later Start This Year, And Experts See Signs That It May Be Milder

Flu Season Is Off To A Later Start This Year, And Experts See Signs That It May Be Milder
There's not much flu going around so far — unlike the last three seasons when doctors' offices were filled with patients before Christmas and illnesses peaked by late December.

Flu Season Is Off To A Later Start This Year, And Experts See Signs That It May Be Milder

Mahua Choudhury, Indian-american Professor Creates 'Supercondom' To Combat HIV

Mahua Choudhury, Indian-american Professor Creates 'Supercondom' To Combat HIV
An Indian-origin professor has created a 'supercondom' that can help combat the deadly virus that cause AIDS and also enhance sexual pleasure.

Mahua Choudhury, Indian-american Professor Creates 'Supercondom' To Combat HIV

Letter Shows Saskatchewan Docs Oppose Allowing People To Pay Privately For MRIs

Letter Shows Saskatchewan Docs Oppose Allowing People To Pay Privately For MRIs
REGINA — Saskatchewan doctors are concerned that the government's decision to allow people to pay privately for MRIs is a "hasty policy."

Letter Shows Saskatchewan Docs Oppose Allowing People To Pay Privately For MRIs

Are You Suffering From Angelina Jolie Syndrome?

If you pay extra attention to the probability of dangerous diseases that you may suffer in future, you are probably suffering from what is being termed as 'Angelina Jolie syndrome', a study warns.

Are You Suffering From Angelina Jolie Syndrome?

Ontario Proposes Tougher Rules For Exempting School Kids From Vaccinations

Ontario Proposes Tougher Rules For Exempting School Kids From Vaccinations
Health Minister Eric Hoskins announced steps Friday to deal with so-called anti-vaxxers, parents who don't want to have their kids immunized because of the now debunked fear that vaccines cause autism or mercury poisoning or auto-immune disorders.

Ontario Proposes Tougher Rules For Exempting School Kids From Vaccinations