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René Cormier – Chair, Independent Senators Group, New Brunswick

Biography

The Honourable René Cormier joined the Senate of Canada on November 15, 2016, as an independent senator from New Brunswick. Senator Cormier is a man of action committed to a citizen-driven approach to the development of Acadia, New Brunswick, and La francophonie. He has extensive professional experience in arts and culture.

Educated in music at l’Université du Québec à Montréal and in theatre at l’École internationale Jacques LeCoq, in Paris, this multidisciplinary artist has held a number of positions within Canada’s cultural ecosystem, including that of artistic director, director, actor, musician, composer, cultural manager, and announcer.

A renowned leader and accomplished artist, Senator Cormier has been working for nearly 40 years to ensure that arts and culture are better integrated in every aspect of Acadian and Canadian society. He has led countless cultural organizations and events, including providing direction for and presenting a number of variety shows on Radio-Canada television, providing artistic and general direction at the Théâtre populaire d’Acadie, artistic direction for the National Arts Centre biennial Zones Théâtrales, artistic direction for the 2009 Congrès mondial acadien, and management of the États généraux des arts et de la culture dans la société acadienne au Nouveau-Brunswick within the Association acadienne des artistes professionnel(le)s du Nouveau-Brunswick (AAAPNB). In that role, Senator Cormier worked tirelessly with his colleagues on bringing together various linguistic and cultural communities in his native province.

Honourable René Cormier is very involved in his community and has also chaired a number of national and international organizations, including the Commission internationale du théâtre francophone (CITF), the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française (FCCF), the Association des théâtres francophones du Canada (ATFC), and the New Brunswick Arts Board. He has also sat on a number of boards of directors, including that of TV5 Québec-Canada, the Canadian Conference of the Arts, and the Atlantic Visual Arts Festival.

A lifelong Acadian activist, from June 2015 until his appointment to the Upper Chamber, Senator Cormier presided over the Société Nationale de l’Acadie (SNA), the representative organization for the Acadian people in Atlantic Canada, nationally, and internationally.

Senator Cormier is recognized for his integrity, his professionalism, his ability to bring people together, and his motivational skills. He has earned many recognitions throughout his career including an honorary doctorate in arts and culture from the Université de Moncton (2018), the Ordre des francophones d’Amérique (2008), the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de France (2003), the Éloize award for theatre artist of the year (2000), the Jean-Claude Marcus award for his contribution to francophone theatre in Canada, and the Economic Council of New Brunswick manager of the year award in 2000.

Since his arrival in the Upper Chamber, Senator Cormier has demonstrated a strong commitment to international diplomacy through his involvement in parliamentary associations, interparliamentary groups and friendship groups. In particular, he is Vice-President of the Canada-France Interparliamentary Association and Director on the Executive Committee of the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association.

Senator Cormier lives in Caraquet, New Brunswick, a vibrant Acadian municipality known as the cultural capital of Acadia.

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Jean-Guy Dagenais – Deputy chair, Canadian Senators Group, Québec (Victoria)

Biography

Influenced by his father, who served 30 years on the Montreal police force, Jean-Guy Dagenais worked as a peace officer from 1972 to 2011 at the Sûreté du Québec. He held various positions, including patrolman, investigator, team leader, and education relations officer with schools. He also worked in the communications division and the VIP security service.

His involvement with the Association des policières et policiers provinciaux du Québec began in 1984. He served successively as delegate, regional director and vice-president of finance. He was elected president in 2004.

Mr. Dagenais has been a guest speaker at the Fédération québécoise des municipalités conference and has participated in many public security committees. He has also been a board member of both the École nationale de police and the Canadian Police Association. He was made Officer of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces, which recognizes citizens from diverse sectors who have shaped Quebec’s development or contributed to its success.

Mr. Dagenais ran as the Conservative candidate in the electoral district of Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot in the 2011 general election.

He is married to Danielle Comeau.

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Larry W. Smith – Deputy Chair, Conservative, Quebec (Saurel)

Biography

Larry Smith is a widely-recognized and respected figure in Quebec. He graduated from Bishop’s University with a bachelor of arts in economics in 1972, and a bachelor of civil law degree from McGill University in 1976. He is well-known in Montreal from his days as a fullback with the Montreal Alouettes from 1972 to 1980, and as President and Chief Executive Officer of the same team from 1997 to 2001 and again since 2004. Working tirelessly to promote professional and amateur football, Mr. Smith also served as Commissioner of the Canadian Football League (CFL) prior to his first term as Alouettes’ President.

Outside of football, Mr. Smith has served on a number of civic charitable boards, including as Co-President of the 2001 Montreal Centraide Campaign and on the board of the Canadian Olympic Committee. He also has extensive experience in the business world, including positions with John Labatt, Ltd., and Ogilvie Mills, Ltd., before becoming CFL Commissioner. In addition he served as president and publisher of The Montreal Gazette in 2002 and 2003.

He has received numerous awards over the course of his careers, including the Commissioner’s Award for outstanding service and dedication in promoting and preserving the CFL (2001), the 1994 American Marketing Association-Toronto chapter Marketer of the Year (consumer products) and Sports Personality of the Year at the Quebec Sports Gala (1998). Mr. Smith was inducted into the Quebec Sports Hall of Fame on September 30th, 2015 under the category of "Builder for Football".

Mr. Smith resides in Hudson, Quebec, with his wife Leesa. They have three children and two grandchildren.

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Raymonde Gagné, Non-affiliated, Manitoba

Biography

Born in Manitoba, Senator Raymonde Gagné has worked in the field of education for over 35 years. Notably, she was President of the Université de Saint-Boniface (USB) from 2003-2014. During this time, she directed the efforts to change the institution’s status from college to university. She also spearheaded a fundraising campaign – the largest in the institution’s history – for the construction of a new health sciences building, to expand research capacity and increase the scholarship and bursary program.

Prior to her tenure as President, she served as Director of New Programs, Director of the Community College and of the Continuing Education Division of USB, as well as Professor in Business Administration.

Prior to her arrival at USB, she worked as a high school teacher, a principal, and as a consultant in regional and industrial expansion in New Brunswick.

She is a member of the Order of Canada, the Order of Manitoba, and a recipient of the Prix Riel.

Throughout her career, she contributed to numerous organizations and boards within Manitoba and across the country. She served as President of the Association des universités de la francophonie canadienne from 2005-2009, was a member of the Advisory Committee on Official Languages for the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada from 2007-2009, and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Consortium national de formation en santé, which she co-chaired from 2009-2014.

As President of USB, Senator Gagné was a member of the Council of Presidents of Universities of Manitoba and was elected Chair in 2012. She was also a member of the Senate of the University of Manitoba.

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Mobina S.B. Jaffer, Independent Senators Group, British Columbia

Biography

Senator Mobina Jaffer represents the province of British Columbia in the Senate of Canada. Appointed to the Senate on June 13, 2001 by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, she is the first Muslim senator, the first African-born senator, and the first senator of South Asian descent.

After spending almost a decade with the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights, Senator Jaffer had the opportunity to chair a number of studies including one on the sexual exploitation of children in Canada and the need for national action. A champion of Canada’s linguistic bilingualism, she advocates measures to advance the use of English and French in communities across Canada. As public safety has assumed a significant place in national debate and policy, Senator Jaffer raised awareness on the abuse of profiling in counterterrorism measures and the fundamental imperative to respect privacy, human rights, and the rule of law. Communities are at the heart of any successful policy initiative and progress; Senator Jaffer works to engage communities in protecting human rights, celebrating Canada’s diversity, and promoting progress.

Senator Jaffer served as Canada’s Special Envoy for Peace in Sudan from 2002 to 2006. From 2002 to 2005, she chaired the Canadian Committee on Women, Peace, and Security. Senator Jaffer is often invited to speak at international conferences on security issues and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, which “urges all actors to increase the participation of women and incorporate gender perspectives in all United Nations peace and security efforts” and “calls on all parties to conflict to take special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse, in situations of armed conflict.” As a grandmother, women’s rights and children’s rights are central to Senator Jaffer’s advocacy.

An accomplished lawyer, Senator Jaffer has practiced law at the firm Dohm, Jaffer and Jeraj since 1978. Appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 1998, Senator Jaffer was the first South Asian woman to practice law in Canada and she has a distinguished record of service to the legal profession.

The Women’s Executive Network named Senator Jaffer among Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2003 and 2004. In 2003, she received an Honorary Doctorate from Open Learning University.

Senator Jaffer earned a Bachelor of Laws from London University in London, England in 1972. She has also completed the Executive Development program at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia.

Born in Uganda, Senator Jaffer speaks six languages and is married. She has two adult children and two grandchildren.

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Patricia Bovey, Progressive Senate Group, Manitoba

Biography

Before being appointed to the Senate on November 10th, 2016, the Honourable Patricia Bovey was a Winnipeg-based gallery director and curator, art historian, writer, professor and, for many years, a management consultant in the arts and not-for-profit sector.

Formerly Director of the Winnipeg Art Gallery (1999-2004) and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (1980-1999), she was appointed Director Emerita of the Winnipeg Art Gallery in 2014. She was a founder of the Buhler Gallery at St Boniface Hospital; the University of Winnipeg’s Manitoba Arts and Culture Management Program, and MA in Curatorial Practice; the British Columbia Government House Foundation and the National Fundraising Society (NSFRE) Vancouver Island Chapter. Director/Curator of the Buhler Gallery from its 2007 inception to Dec 2016, she is Adjunct Professor of Art History at the University of Winnipeg. She writes and lectures widely on Western Canadian art.

Former Chair of the Board of Governors of the University of Manitoba, she has served on the Boards of the National Gallery of Canada (2005 – 2009) and the Canada Council for the Arts (1990-1993); the 1986 Withrow/Richard Federal Task Force on National and Regional Museums; the National Board for the Canadian Center for Cultural Management at the University of Waterloo (2002-2010); is a past Chair of the Board of Governors of Emily Carr University and of the Canadian Art Museum Directors Organization. She was a member of the Public Art Committee of the City of Winnipeg (2003-2007), and of the Mayor’s Task Force on Public Art to develop Winnipeg’s Public Art Policy (2002-2003). Former member of the Board of the University of Manitoba Press, she presently serves on the Eckhardt-Gramatté Foundation. She served as Board Chair of the Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art, and was a member of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation; the Manitoba Rhodes Scholarship and Loran Scholarship Selection committees; the board of Manitoba Artists in Healthcare and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra.

The recipient of the 2015 Winnipeg Arts Council Investors Making a Difference Award, Senator Bovey’s honours include her appointment as Fellow of the UK’s Royal Society for the Arts, and as Fellow of the Canadian Museums Association; the Canada 125 Medal; the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal; Winnipeg’s 2002 Woman of Distinction for the Arts; the Canadian Museums Association Distinguished Service Award; the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Medal; and the 2013 Association of Manitoba Museum’s inaugural Award of Merit.

Involved in international projects, touring exhibitions and artist exchanges, she was an official guest of the Japan Foundation, the British Council, the Government of France, has lectured in the US and Britain and been involved in special initiatives in Finland, Iceland, Norway and China.

Senator Bovey’s consulting since 2005 has focused on governance, policy development and strategic and business planning for galleries, museums and multi-disciplinary arts organizations.

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Claude Carignan, Conservative, Quebec (Mille Isles)

Biography

The Honourable Claude Carignan, P.C., was appointed to the Senate in 2009, and was Leader of the Opposition from November 2015 to March 2017. He sits on the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, the Standing Senate Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration, and the Standing Senate Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament. Senator Carignan is also a member of the Privy Council.

Before he was Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, in August 2013, Claude Carignan was appointed by the Prime Minister of Canada to the position of Leader of the Government in the Senate and was also a member of Cabinet until fall 2015.

As Leader of the Government in the Senate, Claude Carignan was responsible for planning and managing the government’s legislative agenda in the Senate, and sat on several committees, including the Cabinet Committee on Operations, which provided day-to-day coordination of the government’s agenda, issues management, legislation and communications. Prior to that, in May 2011, he was appointed Deputy Leader of the Government.

As a legislator, Senator Carignan introduced two bills in fall 2016. Bill S-230 (drug-impaired driving) passed unanimously in the Senate on December 15, 2016, but while under consideration by the House of Commons, it did not receive the support of the Liberal government in fall 2017. Also in fall 2016, Senator Carignan introduced Bill S-231 (protection of journalistic sources), which passed unanimously in the Senate and the House of Commons. The bill received Royal Assent on October 18, 2017.

In 2010, Claude Carignan joined Dufresne Hébert Comeau Avocats as counsel, while being a Senator. His legal expertise in public law and his experience in the municipal sector continue to serve him well when advising the firm’s clients. In 2017, Senator Carignan was appointed Senior Vice President and Head Corporate Affairs with Réseau Sélection, a leading company in Canada among private actors in the area of retirement complexes.

Claude Carignan also has a longstanding record of social and community engagement. Deeply involved in the community, Claude Carignan has helped promote numerous charitable causes, sat on the boards of several social agencies in his region and created the Fondation Élite Saint-Eustache, which helps support talented young athletes, artists and others in his community.

Claude Carignan also played an active role in several committees and commissions in the Metropolitan Community of Montreal and served as vice-warden of the Regional Council Municipality of Deux-Montagnes. From 2005 to 2009, he was vice-president of both the Conseil inter-municipal de transport des Laurentides and the Association des Conseils intermunicipaux de transport du Québec.

Chair of the Union des municipalités du Québec’s justice and public safety commission, Claude Carignan then became that organization’s second vice-president. He was then appointed president of the Conseil sur les services policiers du Québec in 2008, an advisory body created to advise the Quebec Minister of Public Security on all policing matters. With his public safety expertise, Claude Carignan went on to moderate and chair several seminars and workshops at a number of national conferences and symposia. From 2007 to 2009, he was president of the Centre for Expertise and Research on Infrastructures in Urban Areas, a non-profit organization that grew out of the need to rehabilitate municipal infrastructure efficiently and with acceptable costs.

While practising law, Claude Carignan also taught public and labour law at the Université de Montréal Faculty of Law and at the Université du Québec à Montréal. He also taught at the École nationale d’administration publique (ENAP). Mr. Carignan was elected mayor of Saint-Eustache in November 2000 and devoted himself to the harmonious social, economic and environmental development of his city. His nine years as mayor are full of progressive achievements that contributed to a very significant improvement in the quality of life for the city’s residents. He was also active in the key decision-making authorities at the local, regional and provincial levels, where he worked to provide his municipality and region with the tools they needed for development.

Claude Carignan holds a law degree from the Université de Sherbrooke, Quebec, and a graduate degree in public law from the Université de Montréal. He has worked as a lawyer since his admission to the Quebec Bar in 1988, specializing in civil litigation, public law, labour relations, and health and social services law. He is coauthor of Loi annotée sur les décrets de convention collective, published by Wilson & Lafleur in 1990.

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Percy Mockler, Conservative, New Brunswick

Biography

Senator Mockler was appointed to the Senate by the Right Honourable Stephen Harper in December 2008. Mr. Percy Mockler represents the province of New Brunswick. He is a member of the Senate Standing Committee on Official Languages, member of the Senate Standing Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources and member of the Senate Standing Committee on National Finance. Senator Mockler is also a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of la Francophonie (Canadian section), for which he is the parliamentary Secretary.

Mr. Mockler was for many years a Member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, having first been elected in 1982. As a provincial MLA, Mr. Mockler held several portfolios including Solicitor General, Minister for Human Resources Development and Housing, Minister of Family and Community Services, Minister of Transportation, and Minister of Intergovernmental and International Relations. He was also Minister responsible for La Francophonie and presided over the organization of the 2004 celebrations. Mr. Mockler was also Minister responsible for Service New Brunswick, Minister of Wellness, Culture and Sport, and Minister responsible for the Immigration and Repatriation Secretariat.

Mr. Mockler is a former advisory member for the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Trade Opportunities Strategy. He has given his time to many organizations within his community. He was the founder and president of the St. Leonard Cross-Country Skiing Club, was a member of the Groupe focus du Nord-Ouest of the University of Moncton, a member of the Center for International Business Studies of the University of Moncton and the University of New Brunswick, a member of the first Economic Development Commission for the region of St. Leonard, the treasurer of the local hunting and fishing association, a member of the board of directors of the Credit Union, and the president of the District 32 Homogeneous School Board.

Mr. Mockler was recognized for his exceptional contribution during the 1998 ice storm by the towns of Saint-Hyacinthe and Beloeil in Quebec. Since February 23, 2002, the Saint-Louis-Maillet Foundation of the University of Moncton (Edmundston Campus) awards the annual Percy-Mockler Scholarship in his honour. In May 2005, he received a Canadian Red Cross citation for his involvement during the tsunami crisis in Asia. In May 2005, the Canadian Cancer Society also gave him a certificate of recognition for his outstanding contribution to the cause. That same year, he was recognized as alumnus of the year from the Faculty of Administration of the University of Moncton (Moncton Campus). On the National Day of Romania in December 2005, Mr. Mockler was made a member of the Order of Great Friends of Romania.

Mr. Mockler has a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Moncton. He and his wife, Suzanne Soucy have four children and they live in St. Leonard, New Brunswick.

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Lucie Moncion, Independent Senators Group, Ontario

Biography

Lucie Moncion, a Franco-Ontarian, was appointed to the Senate in November 2016 by The Right Honourable Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. She has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a specialization in co-operative administration from Laurentian University in Sudbury and an MBA from Moncton University. She has extensive knowledge and expertise in the co-operative sector as well as a vast practical experience in the Franco-Ontarian communities. She holds a Chartered Director designation from both Laval University and McMaster University, and she is a member of Canada’s Institute of Corporate Directors.

The first woman in Canada to be appointed as head of a caisse populaire federation, she was the President and Chief Executive Officer of L’Alliance des caisses populaires de l’Ontario for 16 years.

Among her many accomplishments, Senator Moncion was behind the creation of the Government of Ontario’s tripartite caucus on co-operatives and social finance. She was also the President and Chair of the Board of Cooperatives and Mutuals Canada and President of Le Conseil de la coopération de l’Ontario.

Active on various corporate boards of directors, she has chaired the audit and governance committees of Groupe Média TFO; she was Vice-Chair of Nipissing University’s Board of Governors, Treasurer of the Direction Ontario Board of Directors, Chair of the Circuit Champlain and Coalition of Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires working groups, and a member of the Board of Directors at Collège Boréal.

Originally from Ottawa, Senator Moncion has a deep understanding of the province’s francophone minority, and an in-depth knowledge of Northern Ontario, its economy, business climate, needs and communities, and has recognized experience in the co-operatives and social entrepreneurship sector.

She has three children and three grandchildren, and lives with her husband Yvon in North Bay, Ontario.

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