Some Conservative senators still plan to attend party convention

OTTAWA – It’s sure to be the biggest issue at the upcoming Conservative convention: the Senate, and what Prime Minister Stephen Harper is going to do about the ongoing scandal in the upper chamber.

So the question is, will Conservative senators even show up?

Conservative Senator Bob Runciman says he’s going to the convention in Calgary later this week – in part to participate in a panel on Senate reform.

“I’m interested in hearing what people have to say, for sure. I don’t think anybody’s going to punch me or anything,” he said.

“People have a right to be concerned about the way the Senate operates at the moment – unelected – and I’ve been an advocate for a long, long time for an elected Senate. And I think this drives the point home very clearly.”

He said unlike MPs, senators are not being reimbursed for the trip by their political associations and that may have an impact on who attends.

Alberta Senators Betty Unger, Scott Tannas, and Doug Black, as well as Nova Scotia Senator Tom McInnis, are also scheduled to speak at the symposium.

Former government leader in the Senate Marjory LeBreton said it’s not true that senators have been told to stay home from the convention. “No one has been told not to go. That is false,” LeBreton wrote in an email.

“The only concern is whether we will be wrapped up in time in the Senate to catch our flights.”

Former Conservative Party of Canada president Senator Don Plett, who last week spoke out against government motions to suspend Senators Pamela Wallin, Mike Duffy and Patrick Brazeau, said he’s hoping he’ll still make it.

“Well if we’re sitting here that’s the only reason that I wouldn’t,” he said Tuesday.

But Senator Hugh Segal, who has fervently defended Wallin and tried to have her motion thrown out, said he’s not going – simply because he hadn’t planned on it.

He also dismissed the notion that senators have been told not to attend because of backlash.

“Quite the contrary. I think there will be some Conservative senators who will attend, I just had not been planning to attend,” he said.

When asked if the motions will be voted on by the time the convention kicks off on Thursday, Segal said:

“I’m sure the government leader will try to make sure that the vote takes place either Wednesday or Thursday.”