N.L. Liberals want election for vacant Senate seat

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - The Opposition leader in Newfoundland and Labrador wants the province to run an election to replace retired Senator Bill Rompkey.

The issue was raised in the legislature Tuesday when Liberal Leader Yvonne Jones asked Premier Kathy Dunderdale whether she had any plans to follow the lead of provinces such as Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, which have senatorial election laws.

Jones says elections would put an end to the appointment of political favourites.

But Dunderdale says she is not about to put "energy" into the issue because she is busy running the affairs of the province.

The political opposition in the province has been critical of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's move to reappoint Fabian Manning to the Senate.

Manning ran and lost as the Conservative candidate for the riding of Avalon in the federal election earlier this month after resigning his Senate seat.

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  Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Kathy Dunderdale speaks to the media on the news that the Labrador Innu have reached a financial settlement with the federal government regarding land claims, in St. John's on Monday, March 21, 2011. (Paul Daly / THE CANADIAN PRESS)