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No new senator yet: Wheels not yet in motion to fill Nick Sibbeston's seat

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One round of senate appointments has taken place since NWT Senator Nick Sibbeston resigned from his seat in November.

Nick Sibbeston, now 74, was nominated to the Senate by then prime minister Jean Chretien in 1999 and sat as a member of the Liberal caucus until Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau removed all Liberal senators from the party's caucus. NNSL file photo

"More information on next steps, including when the next appointments cycle will be launched, will be released in due course," stated Stéphane Shank, manager of media relations for the Privy Council Office, in response to a request for information on where things sat with the seat.

"The Government will establish an Advisory Board for the Northwest Territories following a consultation with the Premier," wrote Shank. "Each advisory board is made up of three federal members and two members from each of the provinces or territories where a vacancy is to be filled."

Sibbeston, now 74, was nominated to the Senate by then prime minister Jean Chretien in 1999 and sat as a member of the Liberal caucus until Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau removed all Liberal senators from the party's caucus.

This move was seen to be in response to a string of high profile scandals, including that which concerned Conservative Senator Mike Duffy's expenses.

Soon after the Liberals took power in 2015, the government overhauled the senator appointment process, which before had consisted of the governor general appointing senators on the advice of the prime minister.

While this is still the ultimate process, advisory boards are now being created to create a shortlist of candidates, ostensibly changing the criteria to merit than partisan loyalty.

As well, once applications are open, Canadians can apply for the seat directly via an online application on the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments website, which also hosts the assessment criteria.

There is also an extensive question-and-answer section for interested applicants, and news of when the next senate nomination cycle opens – and which seats will be on the table – will be posted on that site.

Under the new system, there have been two cycles of nominations: the winter 2017 cycle, which just ended, and the summer 2016 cycle.