New senator Buth takes seat amid pomp

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This article was published 01/02/2012 (5105 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Manitoba has a new senator.

JoAnne Buth becomes one of Manitoba’s six senators and will sit as a Conservative. Manitoba now has four Conservatives and two Liberals in the Senate.

She replaces Liberal Sharon Carstairs, who resigned her Senate seat in October.

The swearing-in ceremony coincided with the return of the Senate following the Christmas break. Buth is one of six new senators sworn in Tuesday, in a ceremony that included a little pomp and circumstance.

Buth was escorted into the chamber by Senate Government Leader Marjory LeBreton and Sen. Janis Johnson, the longest-serving of Manitoba’s six senators. Buth pledged her allegiance to the Queen before signing the register and speaking briefly with Speaker Noël Kinsella, then took her seat.

“It’s a real honour but because of the ceremonial aspect of it, it’s been an exciting day,” she said.

Buth, 57, had several friends from across Canada and the United States fly in for the event and celebrated with them Tuesday night at a reception in the parliamentary dining room. She said before the Prime Minister’s Office asked her in December to serve as a senator, it was not on her list of future career plans.

“Everybody is surprised I’m moving down this path,” said Buth. “It’s something not even I expected.”

She is an agricultural professional with a biology degree from the University of Winnipeg and a master’s degree in entomology from the University of Manitoba. Just prior to being appointed to the Senate, she was the president of the Canola Council of Canada. She previously worked for Manitoba Agriculture.

Unlike many appointees to the upper chamber, Buth has no direct partisan ties. She said her political leanings are Conservative, however, and she is looking forward to being a member of the Conservative caucus.

She has agreed to the nine-year term limit Prime Minister Stephen Harper requested of all his new Senate appointees. Legislation to impose term limits is before the House of Commons but has not yet passed.

Buth spent several days last week in Ottawa ahead of today’s swearing-in ceremony. She was assigned an office, hired an aide and spent a day in Senate school learning some of the rules and procedures. She will sit on both the agriculture and national finance committees in the Senate.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca