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Canada’s first Sikh Senator came from Kolkatta

Posted in Community, Featured

Published on November 04, 2016 with No Comments

The six new senators are:

Gwenneth Boniface, a police leader, lawyer and educator who is the first female inspector in the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), the first woman appointed as commissioner of the OPP, and the first female president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. Boniface also worked to repair relationships with First Nations communities and promoted Aboriginal policing.

Tony Dean, a professor at the School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Toronto since 2009 and former secretary to cabinet in Ontario, former head of Ontario’s public service and clerk of the executive council. Dean created the “Service Ontario” centres and worked to repair the relationships between the government, teachers’ federations and school boards after the Ontario Liberals passed a law in 2012 that let them impose labour agreements on teachers.

Sarabjit (Sabi) Marwah, a former vice chairman and chief operating officer of Scotiabank. He also served on the boards of the C.D. Howe Institute, the Toronto International Film Festival and the Hospital for Sick Children. He is also a founding member of the Sikh Foundation of Canada and has an honorary doctorate from Ryerson University for his work in advancing social inclusion in business.

Lucie Moncion, president and CEO of the Alliance des caisses populaires de l’Ontario, a network of credit unions serving Francophone communities in Ontario. In that role, Moncion nearly tripled the Alliance’s assets to $1.4 billion. Moncion became president and chair of the board of Cooperatives and Mutuals Canada in 2016.

Kimberly Pate, executive director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies since 1992 and a human rights expert. Pate works to improve conditions for women in prison. She’s also an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law and sits on several advisory boards, including the National Women’s Legal Mentoring Program.

Howard Wetston, a lawyer with Goodmans LLP and an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto. Wetston has led the Ontario Securities Commission, the Ontario Energy Board and the Competition Bureau, and served as a vice-chair of the International Organization of Securities Commissions. He is also a former Federal Court judge.

The first woman appointed as Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police and a former Scotiabank CEO are among the six new senators named by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to fill the Senate of Ontario.

The list includes Gwen Boniface, Sarbjit S. Marwah, Lucie Moncion, Kim Pate, Howard Weston and Tony Dean.

All of the individuals being recommended where chosen using the Government’s new merit-based system. The system is designed to ensure that the Senate is independent, reflective of Canada’s diversity and best suited to take on the broad ranges of challenges Canada faces.The foucs has been on Kolkata-born former Scotiabank’s vice chairman Sarabjit Singh Marwah as  has became the first Sikh to be appointed to the Canadian Senate.

Trudeau lauded Marwah for his efforts for showcasing the “rich diversity of Sikh and South Asian art and culture”. Marwah is one of the founders of the Sikh Foundation of Canada that promotes culture and art among the diaspora community.

Marwah, who was born in Kolkata in 1952, did his his schooling from St Xavier’s School. He is an alumnus of Delhi’s St Stephen’s College and the Delhi School of Economics, and holds an MBA degree from the University of California – Los Angeles, US.

Marwah joined Scotiabank in Toronto as a financial analyst in 1978. Rising through the ranks, he went on to become the chief financial officer (COO) in 1998. In 2002, he was made the bank’s senior executive vice president and chief financial officer.

In 2005, he was elevated as the vice chairman and chief administrative officer. In 2008, he was re-designated.

Marwah has served on the boards of many famous Canadian institutions such as the Toronto Star daily, the Toronto International Film Festival, the CD Howe Institute, the Royal Ontario Museum, the United Way Campaign, and the Hospital for Sick Children.

Marwah joins two other Sikhs — Defence Minister Harjeet Sajjan and Science Minister Navdeep Bains — in the Canadian Parliament.  While Marwah will be the only Indian-origin member of the Senate, there are over 20 members of Indian origin in the House of Commons

 

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