OTTAWA, June 16 (UPI) -- Canadian Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper's goal of electing senators rather than appointing them has come under fire by his own appointees.
Since winning a House majority in the May 2 election, Harper has advanced his plans to hold provincial elections for senators and impose term limits.
However, this week several of his recent appointees to the upper chamber have balked over the proposed eight-year term limits, Postmedia News reported.
That prompted Conservative Sen. Bert Brown of Alberta to write his colleagues a stern reprimand, reminding them of their agreement to back Harper on reform measures.
"Every senator in this caucus needs to decide where their loyalty should be and must be," Brown wrote. "The answer is simple: Our loyalty is to the man who brought us here, the man who has wanted Senate reform since he entered politics ... Stephen Harper."
Among provincial premiers, most are opposed to the election reform plans, The Globe and Mail reported. Quebec has threatened to take the cause to the Supreme Court, as the province would proportionally lose some of its 24 seats in the 105-seat chamber, the reports said.
