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By Derek Abma

OTTAWA — Moments after Prime Minister Stephen Harper introduced on Wednesday his new cabinet, the government announced it intends to appoint “three outstanding Canadians” to the upper chamber: Larry Smith, Josee Verner and Fabian Manning.

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All three were defeated in the May 2 election, and Smith and Manning had quit the Senate so they could pursue seats in the House of Commons.

“Our government will continue to push for a more democratic, accountable and effective Senate,” Harper said in a statement.NDP leader Jack Layton ripped the prime minister for the move.

“Canadians should be outraged that three individuals who were just defeated by the Canadian people in an election have now been appointed to the Senate,” he said at a news conference in Ottawa. “This is wrong. This is completely undemocratic. It’s a slap in the face of the Canadian voters who just trooped out to the polls to send their own message very strongly in that last election.”