Three defeated Conservatives appointed to Senate

The Globe and Mail:

Stephen Harper wasted no time in bringing back three defeated candidates, appointing former Quebec cabinet minister Josée Verner to the Senate and reappointing Larry Smith and Fabian Manning.

Minutes after he finished answering questions from reporters about his cabinet shuffle, the Prime Minister’s Office sent out a release announcing the three appointments. So Mr. Harper did not have to address the issue in public.

Mr. Smith and Mr. Manning had served in the Senate, resigning their seats to run in the May 2 campaign.

The appointments were immediately blasted by NDP Leader Jack Layton, who called them a “slap in the face” to voters.

“The ink is barely dry on their rejection notices and they're being appointed to the Senate,” he said. “If you can't get elected, you shouldn't be appointed to the Senate two weeks later.”

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