SYLVIA COLE
A senator from Rocky View County has retired.
Bert Brown, 75, announced March 22 he is stepping down from office.
Brown was elected as a senator in waiting in 1998 and re-elected in 2004. Brown was the second senator to be elected by Alberta residents. He was appointed by the prime minister in 2007. He served for slightly more than five years.
Brown was at Rocky View County council office on March 26 to present Reeve Rolly Ashdown with an award (see story below). During a break he spoke about his time in Senate.
Though Brown is retired, he still has ambitions and said he would like to see all provinces with a bill to elect senators.
“I absolutely would like to see it across Canada,” said Brown, adding now there are bills in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
“A senator is supposed to represent a particular province … you should be able to vote for your province,” he said.
“Right now, you can only vote for the governing party or Opposition party. There’s no counter-balance to MPs. This causes great problems with the country,” he said.
Brown said he will continue to advocate for change. Meanwhile, he has passed on all of his paperwork to Doug Black and Bettey Unger current senators and Scott Tannas, who is Brown’s replacement.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the appointment of High River resident Tannas to the Senate as Brown’s replacement on March 25.
Tannas was selected as a Senate nominee by Albertans in a consultation process on April 23, 2012.
In a statement released from the Prime Minster’s Office March 25, Harper said he is looking forward to working with Tannas in Parliament.
“His strong business background and deep knowledge of Alberta are sure to benefit the Senate,” said Harper.
He also thanked Brown, calling him “a champion of Senate reform for his hard work and dedication to Albertans and all Canadians.”
