Another western Liberal senator has been handed a prestigious job by prime minister Jean Chrétien.
When Parliament opened Jan. 29, Alberta rancher Dan Hays sat as the senate speaker, preparing to preside over debates in Parliament’s upper house.
He replaces Manitoba senator and former provincial Liberal leader Gildas Molgat.
Chrétien has also appointed Winnipeg’s Sharon Carstairs as government leader in the Senate and a member of cabinet.
Hays, 61, has been in the Senate since 1984. Since 1999, he has been deputy government leader.
He is a lawyer and remains involved in the family ranch at Longview, Alta. Hays has served on the senate agriculture committee for years and was president of the national Liberal party.
He is son of former federal agriculture minister Harry Hays, renowned for his development of the Hays Converter cattle breed, his years as Calgary mayor and later as a federal MP and senator.
