Andrew Scheer says he will not appoint independent senators if elected prime minister

Newly minted Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said that if he is elected prime minister he will abandon the notion of an independent Senate as pursued by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Scheer said his Senate appointees "would be Conservative senators who would help implement a Conservative vision for Canada that would improve the quality of life for Canadians."

Scheer made the comments in an interview with CBC News Network's Power & Politics Wednesday in which he also said he still supports an elected Red Chamber but recognizes that making that a reality may be out of his reach.

"When it comes to Senate reform, in general, I've always been abeliever in an elected Senate and would hope to achieve aspects of Senate reform," Scheer told host Rosemary Barton. "I do note that the Supreme Court has set the bar pretty high to make any fundamental changes."

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In January of 2014,Trudeau expelled every Liberal member of the Senate from the Liberal caucus, leaving them as independent senators with no formal ties to the Liberal parliamentary machine.

At the time,Trudeau said he made the move because he felt a senator could not do their job properly if they had to toe the party line.

Independent senators in the Red Chamber are now themajority, and they have not been afraid to exercise their independence to amend government legislation.

Trade and security with China

Scheer also said he would not back a free-trade deal with China because doing so would put both Canadian workers and manufacturers at a competitive disadvantage.

"When it comes to protecting workers, labour conditions, labour legislation, the rights for collective bargaining," Scheer said. "When you look at our environmental standards, when you look at our public disclosure laws and accountability and securities regulations to ensure that companies abide by the law, we don't have a level playing field with China."

The Conservative leader also questioned the prime minister's approach to China, suggesting that allowing the Norsat deal to go through without a national security review raised questions about the Trudeau government'sability to negotiate.

Andrew Scheer on possible free trade with China

7 years ago

Duration 11:19

'I don't believe a free trade agreement with China would be in the best interests of the Canadian economy,' the Conservative leader says.

A Chinese company is taking over Norsat International Inc., a Canadian firm that manufactures electronic communication systems used by the U.S., Canada and other NATO countries.

When Hytera Communications Co. Ltd. launched its bid for Norsat last year, it triggered a review to ensure it would not harm Canada's interests. That review determined that a full national security review is not necessary, but the Conservatives want Trudeau to order one regardless.

"We're just asking the question: what's the harm in doing a national, a comprehensive, security review?" Scheer said.

"To me it looks like they're taking these steps to appease the Chinese government before free-trade negotiations even start," he said. "So if this is the type of thing [Trudeau] is agreeing to on the front end, I don't have a lot of confidence in getting a good deal for Canada when they actually sit down at the bargaining table."

Deficit spending not working

Scheer was also quick to dismiss the idea that a recent uptick in GDP growth for Canada is due to the Liberal government's deficit spending intended to boost the economy.

He said growth was far more likely related to improving economic conditions globally and a resurgentU.S. economy south of the border.

Scheer said the Liberal government's deficits were a creation of the Liberal government's own spending, brushing aside Trudeau's suggestion that he inherited an $18-billion deficit from the previous Conservative government.

"For him to come out and say these massive deficits aren't his fault, to me, it sounds like the Shaggy defence, you know: it wasn't me, it was like that when we got here, that'sridiculous," he said.