Prime Minister Mark Carney announced four new Senate appointments on July 7. Of the four, three are now serving but one, former Liberal campaign organizer Tom Pitfield, is not.

More than two months after Carney named him to the upper chamber, Pitfield has not formally taken his seat, and the Senate’s official website still lists the position as vacant, according to reporting by Blacklock’s Reporter.

No public explanation has been offered for the delay.

Before an appointee can enter the Senate, the Governor General must issue a summons. The appointee must then swear an oath of allegiance and sign the Senate roll. Pitfield has apparently not completed that process, while the other three people announced alongside him did so weeks ago.

Rodney Ouellette and Geeta Tucker officially joined the Senate on July 9. Former Conservative MP Richard Martel followed on July 24.

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Blacklock’s sought answers from the Privy Council Office, the Government Representative in the Senate and Pitfield’s wife, Liberal MP and former party president Anna Gainey. None explained his status.

Pitfield’s appointment immediately raised eyebrows about his close ties to the governing party. Carney publicly rejected the suggestion that the Senate seat was a reward for Pitfield’s campaign work, pointing instead to his experience in business, philanthropy and technology.

Pitfield is the founder of Data Sciences Incorporated, a Montreal company previously paid $75,000 by Liberal MPs using their taxpayer-funded constituency office budgets.

Conservative MP Michael Barrett attempted to launch a parliamentary investigation into those contracts in 2021, questioning whether public funds had been used to support partisan political activities.

The proposed hearings were defeated by the committee’s Liberal majority in a 6-5 vote.