Today, the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions, and Intergovernmental Affairs, announced appointments to the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments (the Advisory Board). Four individuals were newly appointed, and four individuals were reappointed.
The Advisory Board is an independent and non-partisan body mandated to provide the Prime Minister with merit-based, non-binding recommendations on Senate appointments.
The appointees will represent their respective provinces on the Advisory Board for two years. Their appointments can be renewed at the end of their two-year tenure.
New appointments
- Kathy Fazel for Quebec - Senior Investment Counsellor for RBC PH&N Investment Counsel, former President of the Board of the Montreal Community Foundation, and Governor Emerita at McGill University.
- Pierre Matuszewski for Quebec - Former senior executive in the Canadian financial services industry, executive coach, and member of multiple boards, including Vice-Chair of the Board of Governors of McGill University.
- Linda Hughes for Alberta - Journalism trailblazer, former Chair of the Board of Alberta Health Services, former Chancellor of the University of Alberta, and member of the Alberta Order of Excellence.
- Sheila Risbud for Alberta - Sustainable development leader, Vice-President at Teck Resources Limited, and former President and Chair of the Board of Directors for the Association canadienne-française de l'Alberta.
Reappointments
- Anthony Primerano for Ontario - Active community and business leader with over 25 years of experience assuring strategic successes in the private and public sectors.
- Murray Segal for Ontario - Independent legal counsel and consultant, and former Deputy Attorney General of Ontario.
- Kathryn Berge for British Columbia - Advocate, arbitrator and mediator with the King's Counsel designation.
- Linda Locke for British Columbia - manager of the Hazelton-based Upper Skeena Counselling and Legal Assistance Society, and first Indigenous woman in British Columbia to be appointed as Queen's Counsel.
Advisory Board appointments for jurisdictions with current and upcoming vacancies in the Senate will be announced in due course.
Senate recommendations are made based on established assessment criteria. Canadians are encouraged year-round to apply, if they are eligible, or nominate qualified individuals for membership in the Senate. Applications are retained for two years, and qualified candidates are encouraged to re-apply.
