Senate appointments need reform: Callbeck

P.E.I. Liberal senator Catherine Callbeck still believes in an appointed Senate, but she says changes should be made to the way the appointments are made.

"It's possible that we could have a non-partisan group of people, maybe people who have the Order of Canada, who could interview Canadians from all across Canada and come up with a list of people they feel would make a tremendous contribution to the country and give that to the prime minister," said Callbeck.

"I think it would increase the credibility of senators too because then we would have been recommended by a qualified group."

Callbeck will retire in July 2014, creating the next scheduled vacancy for a P.E.I. Senate seat.

The latest Harris Decima survey found 32 per cent of Canadians polled believe the Senate should be done away with. That's up from 27 per cent responding to a similar poll in 2010.