Toronto developer Toni Varone was appointed as a senator on Wednesday.Varone is a long-time Liberal donor and an organizer for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's 2013 leadership campaign.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, this appointment came after Trudeau's commitment to eliminating "patronage in the Senate."The prime minister earlier praised Varone as a “remarkable Italian-Canadian making a difference.”Varone and his construction company Varone Group Inc. of North York, ON, donated $32,239 to Liberal Party organizers, including contributions to Trudeau's leadership campaign, according to Elections Canada.“I am active in the business of real property development,” Varone testified at 2016 hearings of the Commons Transport committee. Varone was testifying as past chair of Toronto’s Business Development Committee of Downsview Park.Varone is the prime minister's sixty-seventh appointment to the Senate. A majority of Trudeau's appointees identify as "independents" who typically follow the direction set by the cabinet. The formal Liberal Senate Caucus dissolved its name in 2020.“Canadians saw how the Conservatives mistreated the institution that was the Senate, torqued it, used it for their own particular gain, pushed partisanship, pushed patronage in the Senate,” Trudeau told the Commons in 2019. “The fact is we moved forward on removing partisanship and patronage from the Senate. It is now a more independent body of truly sober second thought.”Trudeau, in 2014, expelled all Liberal senators from the Liberal caucus. “The only way to be part of the Liberal caucus is to be put there by the people of Canada,” Trudeau said at the time, promising as prime minister he would “end the partisan and patronage-based nature of the Senate.”“The Senate needs real change,” said Trudeau. He promised reforms aimed at “removing partisanship and patronage from that place.”Cabinet’s Representative in the Senate in 2019 described Trudeau appointees as “independent,” “remarkable” and not “a rubber stamp.” Records showed Trudeau's appointed senators have consistently voted 100% in favour of cabinet bills.One Liberal appointee, “independent” Senator Ratna Omidvar (ON), said in 2018 that she could not imagine voting against a Liberal bill. “I believe we should only vote down legislation that is egregious in nature,” said Omidvar.“I have notionally tried to imagine a situation where I would say no,” said Omidvar. “Because I’m a practical person and I think in the particular rather than the abstract, I think if legislation to make beer free for Canadians would come before us, I would probably say no. I would certainly say no if there was legislation before our house to legislate torture.”
Toronto developer Toni Varone was appointed as a senator on Wednesday.Varone is a long-time Liberal donor and an organizer for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's 2013 leadership campaign.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, this appointment came after Trudeau's commitment to eliminating "patronage in the Senate."The prime minister earlier praised Varone as a “remarkable Italian-Canadian making a difference.”Varone and his construction company Varone Group Inc. of North York, ON, donated $32,239 to Liberal Party organizers, including contributions to Trudeau's leadership campaign, according to Elections Canada.“I am active in the business of real property development,” Varone testified at 2016 hearings of the Commons Transport committee. Varone was testifying as past chair of Toronto’s Business Development Committee of Downsview Park.Varone is the prime minister's sixty-seventh appointment to the Senate. A majority of Trudeau's appointees identify as "independents" who typically follow the direction set by the cabinet. The formal Liberal Senate Caucus dissolved its name in 2020.“Canadians saw how the Conservatives mistreated the institution that was the Senate, torqued it, used it for their own particular gain, pushed partisanship, pushed patronage in the Senate,” Trudeau told the Commons in 2019. “The fact is we moved forward on removing partisanship and patronage from the Senate. It is now a more independent body of truly sober second thought.”Trudeau, in 2014, expelled all Liberal senators from the Liberal caucus. “The only way to be part of the Liberal caucus is to be put there by the people of Canada,” Trudeau said at the time, promising as prime minister he would “end the partisan and patronage-based nature of the Senate.”“The Senate needs real change,” said Trudeau. He promised reforms aimed at “removing partisanship and patronage from that place.”Cabinet’s Representative in the Senate in 2019 described Trudeau appointees as “independent,” “remarkable” and not “a rubber stamp.” Records showed Trudeau's appointed senators have consistently voted 100% in favour of cabinet bills.One Liberal appointee, “independent” Senator Ratna Omidvar (ON), said in 2018 that she could not imagine voting against a Liberal bill. “I believe we should only vote down legislation that is egregious in nature,” said Omidvar.“I have notionally tried to imagine a situation where I would say no,” said Omidvar. “Because I’m a practical person and I think in the particular rather than the abstract, I think if legislation to make beer free for Canadians would come before us, I would probably say no. I would certainly say no if there was legislation before our house to legislate torture.”
