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Harper fills 5 Senate vacancies

Prime Minister Stephen Harper filled five vacancies in the Senate on Friday, announcing the appointment of one woman and four men to sit in the upper chamber.

The new senators are:

Diane Bellemare, Quebec.

Tobias C. Enverga Jr., Ontario.

Thanh Hai Ngo, Ontario.

Thomas Johnson McInnis, Nova Scotia.

Paul E. McIntyre, New Brunswick.

"It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these five distinguished Canadians to the Senate of Canada," Harper said in a press release. "Their broad range of experience and dedication to community will further strengthen the institution and benefit the entire country."

Harper said all the new appointees support the Conservatives' position on Senate reform, including proposed legislation to limit term length and electing nominees for Senate appointments.

"I look forward to working with these talented individuals," Harper said. "Their skills and experience will help to further advance our shared goals of jobs, growth and long-term prosperity for all Canadians."

Bellemare is an economist who ran for the Action Démocratique du Québec party in several elections. Enverga has a business background, working at Bank of Montreal for 30 years as a project manager, and the Toronto resident is the founder of the Philippine Canadian Charitable Foundation.

Ngo was appointed a citizenship judge in Ottawa in 2007 and is himself an immigrant. He came to Canada from Vietnam in 1975 and is highly involved in the Vietnamese community.

McInnis is a lawyer who lives in Sheet Harbour Nova Scotia and a former federal Progressive Conservative candidate. He ran for a seat in the House of Commons in 2000, but before that had served in Nova Scotia's house of assembly from 1978 to 1993.

McIntyre is also a lawyer, from New Brunswick, and Harper's statement noted that he writes poetry in his spare time.