MARKHAM, Ont. — Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he's in no hurry to fill vacancies in the Senate.
Harper says he's not hearing a lot of popular support for naming new members to the upper chamber, where 16 of the 105 seats remain empty — and the Conservatives still hold a healthy majority.
The prime minister says, from his point of view, it's important to be able to get legislation passed in the Senate.
Since that isn't a problem with the existing standings, he feels the Senate is operating just fine, even with a 15-per-cent vacancy rate.
Harper's comments follow a complaint today from the Senate's new Speaker, Pierre Claude Nolin, who says the vacancies are starting to affect the upper chamber's ability to get things done.
The chamber has been a political thorn for Harper in the last year, with three former Conservative senators suspended over questioned expenses.
One of them, Mike Duffy, is due to go to trial in April on 31 charges of fraud, a case that is widely expected to trigger a fresh political storm in an election year.
"I don't think I'm getting a lot of call from Canadians to name more senators right about now," Harper said when asked about Nolin's concerns.
