Denise Batters | |
---|---|
Canadian Senator from Saskatchewan | |
Assumed office January 25, 2013 | |
Nominated by | Stephen Harper |
Appointed by | David Johnston |
Personal details | |
Born | Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada | June 18, 1970
Political party | Conservative Party of Canada |
Spouse | |
Alma mater |
University of Regina (
BA) University of Saskatchewan ( LLB) |
Profession |
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Denise Leanne Batters KC (born June 18, 1970) is a Canadian politician who has served as a senator from Saskatchewan since January 25, 2013. She was briefly ousted from the national Conservative Party of Canada caucus from November 2021 to February 2022, after criticizing then-leader Erin O'Toole, but remained a member of the Senate Conservative Caucus.
Born in Regina, Batters received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Regina in 1991. [1] In 1994, she obtained her Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Saskatchewan and was admitted to the bar in 1995. [2]
Batters was in private practice until 2007 and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2008. [2] From 2007 to 2012, she served as the Chief of Staff to Saskatchewan Minister of Justice Don Morgan. [2] From 2012 to 2013, Batters worked for Saskatchewan's Crown Investments Corporation as executive director of regulatory affairs. [3]
On June 29, 2009, Batters' husband, former Palliser Conservative Member of Parliament Dave Batters, died by suicide at the age of 39. [4] In the wake of his death, Denise Batters became a mental health advocate. She organized a number of Dave Batters Memorial Golf Tournaments, which raised more than $215,000 for mental illness awareness and suicide prevention. [5] Denise directed the proceeds of these fundraisers towards the production of a television commercial aimed at men aged 30–50 struggling with anxiety and depression. [6] In 2012, she testified before the House of Commons Health Committee in support of a national suicide prevention framework. [7] Denise Batters was awarded the Canadian Association on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH) Champion of Mental Health Award (Parliamentarian) in 2015. [8] In October 2017, she received a "Difference Maker" award from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) for her work in the area of mental health. [9]
In January 2013, she was appointed to the Senate of Canada on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. [10] Senator Batters served as Deputy Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs until 2021. [11] [12] She served as Deputy Chair of the Senate Standing Committee of Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration from November 2017 to April 2020. [13] She has also been a member of the Senate Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament, and the Subcommittee on Senate Communications. [5]
In November 2021, about two months after the 2021 Canadian federal election, Senator Batters launched a petition for a review of Erin O'Toole as Conservative Party leader stating that, "Mr. O'Toole flip-flopped on policies core to our party within the same week, the same day, and even within the same sentence." [14] [15] On November 16, O'Toole ejected Batters from the national Conservative caucus (in which Conservative MPs and Senators both sit) for "discrediting" the work of the caucus and the leader. [16] [17] Batters released a statement on the expulsion saying that "Mr. O'Toole cannot 'tolerate' criticism." [18]
Though expelled from the national Conservative caucus, which is made up of both MPs and Senators, she remains a member of the Senate Conservative Caucus. However, the Senate Conservatives have excluded her from appointment to Senate committees. [19] [12] In January 2022, the Saskatchewan Conservative Caucus confirmed Batters as a member of their regional caucus. [20] In February 2022, after O'Toole's ouster as Conservative leader, Batters returned to the national caucus. [21]
In Senate, she offered effusive praise for the " Freedom Convoy" protesters who demonstrated in downtown Ottawa from January 29 to February 20. Batters said that the "chattering classes" had unfairly portrayed the protesters, classifying it as a "dance party." "I can say that in the last two years, I never felt safer walking home from my office at night." [22]
Denise Batters met her future husband, Dave Batters, in 1989, while they were crossing the street at a political convention. [23] They married in 1997. Dave Batters served as the Conservative Member of Parliament for the federal Saskatchewan riding of Palliser from 2004 to 2008. After a battle with depression and anxiety, Dave died by suicide in 2009. [24]