Senate Work and Reform
Senator Dennis Patterson
A government bill scrapping Harper-era changes to a regulatory body in the Northwest Territories and giving new powers to cabinet over oil and gas work in offshore areas in the Arctic is poised to become law after passing through the Senate without amendment.
Senators on Wednesday voted to adopt Bill C-88 at third reading without any changes, pushing the legislation toward royal assent.
Anti-superboard bill passes
Senate gives Bill C-88 the OK in final days of last sitting before election
Senator Dennis Patterson
by: Tim Edwards
Bill C-88 is on its way to Royal Assent after the Senate passed its third reading last Wednesday. Among other measures, the bill repeals a clause in the NWT’s devolution agreement that would force the amalgamation of the territory’s regional land and water boards into one.
It was the first bill NWT Senator Margaret Dawn Andersonsponsored since she was named to the role by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in December.
Senator Dennis Patterson
PARLIAMENT HILL-From the leafy streets of Mount Royal, Que., to the soaring, glorious mountains of Yellowhead, Alta., and
everywhere else in between and beyond, MPs and Senators answered one question from The Hill Times: what does it mean to
be Canadian? Some of their answers will surprise you and others will make you think, but every response reflects a rock-solid
pride in Canada.
Senator Dennis Patterson
Dennis Patterson says he will visit all 25 Nunavut communities this year
Senator Dennis Patterson said he wants to make sure the concerns of the Nunavummiut are heard in Ottawa this year.
Currently, Nunavut is the only northern jurisdiction with representation in Canada’s Senate, because three northern senators resigned in the past year.
Senator Dennis Patterson
The 43-year-old Independent Quebec Senator knows he’s been given a second chance and says he’s going to try to do the right thing over the next 32 years in the Senate. But one Indigenous source said it will ‘take years and years of quiet, dedicated hard work at the grassroots level’ for Sen. Patrick Brazeau to redeem himself with First Nations.
Nunavut Conservative Senator Dennis Patterson echoed that sentiment. He said Sen. Brazeau has “been very active” since he returned to the Hill and played an active role in the Senate Aboriginal Peoples Committee even before he was made a full member of the committee recently.
“I would think that by actively participating in the challenges that are facing aboriginal peoples in Canada and the efforts to reconcile with them, which is the very subject our committee is studying, I think playing a constructive role, would be a very good opportunity for him,” said Sen. Patterson.
Senator Dennis Patterson
Liberals have yet to decide if it will purse formal free trade negotiations with China
With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau poised to possibly travel to China soon, a Conservative senator plans to shine a spotlight on human rights abuses in its Himalayan region of Tibet.
Sen. Dennis Patterson plans to use the procedural rules of the upper chamber today to draw attention to what he says are human rights abuses in Tibet, which has been under the Chinese Communist party’s control since 1951.
Patterson said he and fellow senators will read the biographies of more than half a dozen political prisoners held in Tibet.
Senator Dennis Patterson
Tobias Enverga Jr., the first Filipino-Canadian ever appointed to the Senate, has died while on a parliamentary visit to Colombia.
Conservatives on Parliament Hill flooded social media with condolences upon hearing the news.
“The tragic loss of his welcoming and sunny personality leaves a large hole in the lives of all who knew him,” Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said in a statement.
Senator Dennis Patterson
“Sustainable development in the Arctic requires the involvement of Indigenous peoples”
The Senate of Canada has voted in favour of setting up a special committee on the Arctic, but we’ll have to wait until December to see who’s on it, who’s chairing it and what they hope to accomplish.
Sen. Charlie Watt, who represents the Nunavik region, put forward a motion to form the special committee on May 4 with a rousing speech to his colleagues about why such a committee is needed.
Senator Dennis Patterson
Back when Canada was founded, prime minister John A. Macdonald did his best to ensure that — some — minority rights were safeguarded. “We must protect the rights of minorities, and the rich are always fewer in number than the poor,” Macdonald is said to have declared in 1864 during a meeting to plan rules for the new country’s Senate…
Senator Dennis Patterson
If you are an public official, you must expect to live your life in the public eye. While not responding to direct questions about whether or not he believes disgraced Nunavut MP Hunter Tootoo should resign, as a recent petition demands, Nunavut Senator Dennis Patterson said he’s clear on the need for public decorum…
Residency rules get more flack
Senator Dennis Patterson
Nunavut Sen. Dennis Patterson, appointed by the Conservatives, cribbed a line from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when describing the current requirements to become a senator in Canada.
“I think the requirement to own property stemmed from a now-ancient era where it was assumed that only the landed gentry, only those who had the financial wherewithal to own property and be worth a certain amount, were fit to govern,” he said.
“I think those notions are elitist, anachronistic and inappropriate, and as the prime minister said, it’s 2015, it’s 2016, they’re inappropriate in the modern era.”
Senator Dennis Patterson
Senators have rejected a proposal to further expand the Liberal government’s doctor-assisted dying bill to include advance directives for patients with conditions such as dementia…Senators have rejected a proposal to further expand the Liberal government’s doctor-assisted dying bill to include advance directives for patients with conditions such as dementia…
Sibbeston goes independent
Senator Dennis Patterson
NWT Senator Nick Sibbeston has quit the Senate Liberal caucus to sit as an independent for the remainder of his term.
He made the announcement in a news release yesterday. Even though Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expelled 32 Liberal senators from the Liberal caucus in 2014 before he became PM, Sibbeston said they were still independent Senate Liberals. He has now given that up all together and will sit as an independent with no party affiliation whatsoever.
Senator challenges land requirement
Senator Dennis Patterson
Less than 20 per cent of Nunavut’s population are qualified to be a senator, and that’s something Nunavut’s senator, Dennis Patterson, is trying to change.
“The bottom line here is that right now to be qualified to be a member of the Senate of Canada, one has to not only be a resident of the region to be appointed to represent but one must also own land,” said Patterson, who introduced a private members’ bill to amend the Constitution in the Senate March 10.
Senator Dennis Patterson
Nunavut Senator Dennis Patterson wants to change the law to make more Canadians eligible to be appointed to the Senate, particularly residents of the territory he represents…
Senator Dennis Patterson
Justin Trudeau is committed to creating a modern, non-partisan Senate. He took the first step as Liberal leader when he removed all senators from his party’s caucus, making them independent legislators. As prime minister, he has promised to follow a merit-based process in appointing new senators…
Senator Dennis Patterson
Conservative Sen. Dennis Patterson wants to get rid of the requirements for property and net worth that he says exclude millions of Canadians from having a shot at a career in the upper chamber. “It’s a relic of another era, when the landed gentry were assumed to have special democratic privileges,” the senator for Nunavut said in an interview Thursday…
Senator Dennis Patterson
“I think it’s a good time for me to be reaching out to the new government,” said Patterson, “because the Senate is becoming even less partisan than it was before.”…
Senator Dennis Patterson
Quebec’s desire to re-negotiate its maritime boundary with Nunavut raises big issues that ought to be discussed within a forum that brings together all affected governments and Indigenous peoples, Conservative Nunavut Senator Dennis Patterson said in the Senate Dec. 10…
Senator Dennis Patterson
“Foreign money” pouring into the bank accounts of Canadian environmental organizations from shadowy, hidden donors in the United States and other places represents a new threat to Canadian sovereignty, Conservative Senator Dennis Patterson claimed March 29 in the Senate…
Senators visit North
Senator Dennis Patterson
Senators are visiting the North this week to glean information for a study on renewable and non-renewable energy development in the three territories.
The visiting senators are members of the standing senate committee on energy, the environment and natural resources. They have plans to meet with various players involved in the energy sector, including industry, aboriginal and territorial representatives, and environmental and community leaders, from May 9 to 16. The senators will also stop in the smaller communities, such as Kimmirut, to gain “a better understanding of energy challenges facing local people.”
Time to congratulate
Senator Dennis Patterson
The head of the Kivalliq Inuit Association has no problem with the recent appointment of Dennis Patterson as Nunavut’s representative in the Senate.
Jose Kusugak said it’s time to congratulate Patterson, not condemn the selection of a non-Inuk.
He said once people get used to the idea, they’ll realize Patterson brings a lot of skills to the position.
Former premier appointed senator
Senator Dennis Patterson
Former premier of the Northwest Territories Dennis Patterson was appointed as Nunavut’s new senator last Thursday.
“I see this appointment in the senate as an opportunity to build on that experience and be an advocate and a voice for northern interests on parliament hill,” Patterson said. “I look forward to working with Leona Aglukkaq (Nunavut MP) and the Prime Minister to apply the benefit of that experience to issues of the day.”