Fort McMurray's former mayor joins committee to advise on future Senate appointments
As former mayor of Fort McMurray, life after politics was giving Melissa Blake plenty of family time, but the days were getting a "little bit long," she says.
On Thursday, Blake was excited to talk about being chosen as one of two new federal appointees to a committee that will advise Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on suitable candidates for the Canadian Senate.
"It's kind of like volunteering but for such a huge cause," Blake said about her appointment to the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments. "It's amazing."
Blake will be one of three permanent federal members of the board, which was established in January 2016 with a stated goal to make the Senate less partisan. The permanent members include chair Huguette Labelle and new appointee François Rolland, a former chief justice of the Quebec superior court.
For each vacant seat in the Red Chamber, the permanent advisory committee is joined by two ad hoc members from each province or territory. That five-member board provides a "merit-based" shortlist of five names for each empty or soon-to-be empty seat.
There are currently 12 vacancies in the 105-member Senate, including one in Alberta. Four more vacancies are expected later in 2018.
Blake, who did not seek re-election after her sixth term as Fort McMurray's mayor in 2017, described the role as similar to recruiting positions she had held in the past. "You have to sift through and make the best decision about who is the best candidate," she told CBC News.
Laughing, Blake said she was still technically unemployed but has been offered several opportunities. In addition to the Senate advisory committee, she has also a member of the selection committee for the Alberta Order of Excellence.
"I turned down a lot of different things, these are fascinating opportunities," Blake said.
Senate advisory board criticized
There has been some criticism that the efforts of the Senate advisory board haven't had much traction with the federal government.
Indira Samarasekera, the University of Alberta's former president and chancellor, was among the federal appointees to the board when it was first created in 2016.
A few weeks ago, she told The Hill News that the prime minister's office was sent more than 130 names of recommended candidates, chosen from out of more than 4,000 applications.
Rather than choose from that list to fill current vacancies, the government instead reopened the nomination process.
"Why don't we give those people on that list a fair shot before we call for new nominations?" Samarasekera said in The Hill Times article.
She noted that most members of the advisory board had their terms run out. The appointments of Blake and Rolland mean the board has its full number of federal members, but nine of the 13 provinces and territories do not currently have ad hoc members in place.
