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The federal government is creating an independent advisory body to recommend nominees for appointment to the Senate, promising to choose candidates based on their merit, not their political leanings.

Democratic Reform Minister Maryam Monsef said Thursday, that the changes are part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau鈥檚 commitment "to end partisanship in the Senate and reinvigorate an institution that plays a vital role in our parliamentary democracy."

The new advisory board will consist of five members: one federal chair, two permanent members, and two ad hoc members chosen from the provinces or territories where the Senate has vacancies.

Candidates will be chosen based on their merit, including a "demonstrated record of service to their community, the public, or their chosen field of expertise," Monsef said.

Candidates will also need to have proven personal qualities, including ethics and integrity. And they will need to be willing bring a non-partisan perspective to the Senate.

"The transparent criteria will be applied in a way that respects the importance of gender balance, and reflects Canada's diversity," she added.

"I'm confident that this merit-based process will result in candidates of the highest quality being recommended to serve Canadians in the Senate.

There are currently 22 vacancies in the chamber. Monsef said the aim is to choose the advisory board鈥檚 permanent members quickly so that the board can provide the prime minister with a shortlist of five candidates for several of the current vacancies "early in the new year."

Those first five nominees will be to fill vacancies in provinces that are most under-represented at the moment 鈥� two in Ontario, two in Manitoba and one in Quebec.

The other 17 spots will be filled by the end of 2016.

As Trudeau moved forward with his plans for Senate reform on Thursday, he also appointed current Senator George Furey Speaker of the Senate, replacing Conservative Leo Housakos.

Changes questioned by opposition

Trudeau promised to create the advisory body two years ago, when he kicked all Liberal senators out of his party's caucus. He said at the time that partisanship had eroded senators' ability to dispassionately scrutinize legislation passed by the House of Commons.

Recently, two Conservative senators have also opted to sit as independents. After New Brunswick Senator John Wallace left the Conservative caucus on Nov. 18, Sen. Jacques Demers announced Thursday he would also be leaving the caucus to sit as an independent.

But Scott Reid, the Conservative democratic reform critic, said he saw 鈥渁 number of significant problems鈥� with the Liberals鈥� plans.

鈥淥ne is, you鈥檝e got a five-member panel, all appointed by the prime minister,鈥� he said on CTV鈥檚 Power Play Thursday.

The way the five-person panel worked also meant most provinces would have their senators selected by a group who mostly lived out of province, Reid said.

Reid also said the panel鈥檚 recommendations for senator positions would remain secret.

鈥淭his is hardly the transparent, open process we have reason to want to happen in Canada,鈥� he said.

NDP MP Nathen Cullen also questioned Trudeau鈥檚 promise of a reformed Senate, saying even with today鈥檚 announced changes, the senate remained 鈥渦ndemocratic鈥� and lacked transparency.

鈥淚f this is going to rehab, this is still having a sip on the side,鈥� he said.

But Liberal MP Mark Holland defended his party鈥檚 actions, saying that Canadians didn鈥檛 want the 鈥淐onstitutional wrangling鈥� involved in making the kinds of changes the other parties were suggesting.

鈥淣ot only in my lifetime, but in the lifetime of anybody who is living in Canada, this is the first time the Senate has actually been reformed,鈥� Holland said.

The last Senate appointment was made by former prime minister Stephen Harper in March 2013. Shortly after, the upper chamber was embroiled in scandal when several senators were found to have made questionable or improper expense claims.

Though Harper had vowed to abolish the Senate altogether, the Supreme Court of Canada decided that any major reforms to the Senate would require a constitutional amendment.

Monsef said Thursday the Liberal government's proposed changes will not require opening up the Constitution.

With files from The Canadian Press