Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has named nine new, non-partisan senators, one of which is IAR’s very own Yuen Pau Woo. Yuen Pau Woo has served as the former president of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and is currently a senior fellow in public policy at the Institute of Asian Research at the University of British Columbia.
Coverage on the newly appointed senates can be found here:
CTV News
Huffington Post
More about Yuen Pau Woo:
www.yuenpauwoo.com
Full List of Senates:
- Malaysian-born Yuen Pau Woo, former president of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and currently senior fellow in public policy at the Institute of Asian Research at the University of British Columbia.
- Manitoba art historian Patricia Bovey, former director of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, former member of the board of trustees of the National Gallery of Canada and the board of the Canada Council for the Arts.
- Winnipeg psychiatrist Harvey Chochinov, internationally recognized expert in palliative care. The previous Harper government appointed Chochinov to chair an external panel that consulted Canadians on possible legislative options following the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling striking down the ban on medically assisted dying. His appointment was controversial because Chochinov had argued in court against legalizing assisted dying.
- Lawyer and human rights activist Marilou McPhedran, co-leader of the Ad Hoc Committee of Canadian Women on the Constitution, a grassroots movement in the early 1980s that successfully campaigned for stronger equality rights provisions in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Former member of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, former chief commissioner of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission, currently a professor at the University of Winnipeg Global College.
- New Brunswick francophone Rene Cormier, president of the Societe Nationale de l’Acadie, the lead organization for the international strategy for the promotion of Acadian artists. Formerly, president of the Commission internationale du theatre francophone, director of the Theatre populaire d’Acadie, president of the Federation culturelle Canadienne-francaise and board member of the Canadian Conference of the Arts.
- New Brunswick women’s issues expert Nancy Hartling, founder of the non-profit Support to Single Parents Inc. and founder of St. James Court Inc., an affordable housing complex for single parents. Co-chaired the provincial minister’s working group on violence against women.
- Nova Scotia social worker and educator Wanda Thomas Bernard, the first African-Canadian to hold a tenure-track position at Dalhousie University and to be promoted to full professor. A founding member of the Association of Black Social Workers, current chair of the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women.
- Daniel Christmas, senior adviser for the Mi’kmaw First Nation of Membertou, N.S. He is credited with playing a key role in transforming his home community from a First Nation on the brink of bankruptcy to one of the most successful in Canada. Former director of advisory services for the Union of Nova Scotia Indians.
- Prince Edward Island conservationist Diane Griffin, former provincial deputy minister of environmental resources. Recipient of the Governor General’s Conservation award. Currently a councillor on Stratford, P.E.I., town council.
“It is a privilege to be putting forward the names of nine new senators to the Governor General who have been selected using a new merit-based and open process. It is part of our ongoing efforts to make the Senate more modern and independent and ensure that its members have the depth of knowledge and experience to best serve Canadians.”
– Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
