Senator Plett: You actually said that with a straight face. The Prime Minister — and you, Senator Gold — talk a good game about the independence of the Senate, but this Liberal Prime Minister has appointed 70 so-called independents, and none of them have joined the Conservative caucus. What a coincidence. What a surprise. It seems the only criteria needed to be appointed as a senator is not to be a Conservative.

However, Albertans elected three Conservatives to represent them in the Senate. Justin Trudeau does not tolerate opposition. We’ve seen that with his refusal to name a Conservative senator to the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, or NSICOP, and we see it again here. Leader, is that why the people of Alberta will be snubbed again by Justin Trudeau because they dared to elect Conservatives?

Senator Gold: I’m timing myself because I really could go on at length. You’ve really tossed a nice softball. First of all, my honourable colleague to my right was an honourable member of the Conservative Party in Alberta and is now sitting in my office. Second — and here I’m going to be careful — when senators are appointed to this place in the current regime, they are told — I was told because I don’t know what everybody else was told — to exercise an independent judgment, and that includes what group to associate with or indeed whether to choose to sit, as several of our honourable colleagues do, without affiliation with an organized group. Each group should look at themselves and ask why they are attractive to incoming new senators or why perhaps they haven’t attracted members. That is probably a more fruitful line of inquiry than the question that you posed.