Senator looks back as he bids farewell to Red Chamber

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OTTAWA — After 16 years, he’s ready to call it quits.

Manitoba Sen. Don Plett, who turned the mandatory Senate retirement age of 75 this month, said he’s not worried about finding things to do now that he’s stepping down.

“My wife and I enjoy golf, we live five minutes away from our golf course,” Plett told TheToronto Sun during a sit-down in his Wellington St. office, overlooking the Rideau Canal and Parliament Hill on a spectacular Ottawa spring day.

“It’s a good time of year to retire.”

Plett was appointed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in August 2009, where he’s made a name for himself as being tough and principled — plus a reliable pragmatist and loyal friend.

Plett hails from the small town of Landmark, about 30 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg — and while many say his political views skew right, he’s a born-and-bred centrist.

“I’m the most central-Canadian person in the crowd,” he said with a smile, recalling speeches he’d made in Toronto — a city that considers itself the centre of Canada.

“My main street in Landmark, running north and south, is the geographical centre of Canada. My office was on the west side of Main St. and my house on the east side. I go from eastern Canada to western Canada half a dozen times a day.”

Plett served as the inaugural president of the Conservative Party of Canada — born from the ashes of the former federal Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance, and was a key figure in the negotiations to merge the parties.

“We had 616 ridings — 308 Alliance and 308 Conservative — I had to meld that into a cohesive unit,” Plett said.

“That, of course, took quite a bit of doing.”

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Sen. Leo Housakos, who was appointed to replace Plett as Senate Opposition Leader, described him as a true friend both inside and outside of the chamber.

“We’ve shared not only the responsibilities of public service but the kind of camaraderie that comes from walking the same road, shoulder to shoulder,” he said.

“Don’s heart is always fully in the fight. It’s been an honour to serve alongside him, and an even greater privilege to call him my friend.”

Plett has seen many changes in Canada and the Senate, enduring a decade of Liberal rule.

“The Senate, when I got here, was largely what our forefathers had planned — we were chamber of sober second thought,” he said, adding that increased partisanship and changes in the appointment process have rendered the Senate a mere shadow of it once was.

“We’ve become an echo chamber, where Senators come here and think they represent a very small group of people,” he said.

While senators were once appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the PM,  former prime minister Justin Trudeau made changes which allow Canadians to either apply or nominate someone for an appointment, with an appointed committee providing short-lists of potential candidates.

But through this, Plett insisted he isn’t in favour of an elected Senate.

“If we were an elected chamber, we would have the mandate to defeat legislation because we would also be accountable to the electorate,” he said.

“That would be very dangerous — if I had to run for election, I’m going to start voting based on what’s good for my electoral chances, not what’s good for the people that represent or adhere to my beliefs and principles.”

While he won’t miss the constant travel and delayed flights, Plett said he’ll miss the debates, the camaraderie with fellow Senators from across the aisle, and being a vital part of Canada’s political machine.

“Every time I’ve walked into that Senate chamber, and as I think about the awesome responsibility — the awesome opportunity, but also responsibility that we have — I still today get a lump in my throat,” he said.

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume