Committee Member Biographies

Éric Forest, Deputy Chair
Independent Senators Group (Québec – Gulf)

Éric Forest has worked for the development of Eastern Quebec for over 40 years. As the Mayor of Rimouski from 2005 to 2016, he has engaged the Rimouski community through a strategic plan that guides the development of a respectful, united community. Under his leadership, Rimouski is now recognized as one of the best cities to live in Canada, with a strong cultural vitality and an economic structure geared to the knowledge economy.

He entered politics at age 27, as a councillor in Pointe-au-Père – and was elected mayor two years later. After spending some time in the business community, as the co-owner and vice-president of a car dealership, he returned to politics in 1994, as a councillor with the City of Rimouski, before becoming mayor. From 1995 to 2005, he was vice-president and director general of the Océanic hockey club, where he set the goal of making the Océanic an instrument for social cohesion for all of Eastern Quebec.

He became the Mayor of Rimouski in 2005, and he chaired the Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ) for almost four years, from 2010 to 2014, in the context of a major crisis of confidence by citizens toward their municipal elected officials. His commitment helped to bring together the municipal sector, through two provincial summits that led to the preparation of a white paper on the future of municipalities.

While Chair of the UMQ, he also implemented a social and professional integration project that enabled youth from youth centres to have an enriching work experience within their city’s municipal team. In 2014, he received the Jean-Paul L’Allier Award, which honours a Quebec elected official for outstanding vision, leadership and achievements in urban planning and land use planning. Mr. Forest is also very active in numerous social causes and is particularly committed to encouraging young people and women to become involved in politics, within the scope of his responsibilities with the UMQ and the L’Effet A movement.

Rosa Galvez
Independent Senators Group (Québec – Bedford)

Rosa Galvez, originally from Peru, is one of Canada’s leading experts in pollution control and its effect on human health. She has a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from McGill University and has been a professor at Université Laval à Québec since 1994, heading the Civil and Water Engineering Department from 2010 to 2016. She specializes in water and soil decontamination, waste management and residues, and environmental impact and risk assessment.

Throughout her career, she has been requested by private, governmental and community organisations to offer expert advice. She has also advised a number of international organisations including on Canada-US and Quebec-Vermont agreements regarding the protection of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. She also conducted an important study on the catastrophic oil spill at Lac-Mégantic.

Senator Galvez is a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec, the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering and Engineers Without Borders. Her research has led her around the world to countries such as France, Italy, Belgium, Japan and China.

Senator Galvez was appointed to the Senate on December 6, 2016, representing Québec (Bedford). She lives in Quebec with her partner, Luke, and has three children, Virginie, Lydia and Francisco.

Joan Kingston
Independent Senators Group (New Brunswick)

Joan Kingston is a registered nurse and a former member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick. She is currently a consultant with the University of New Brunswick’s (UNB) Faculty of Nursing, having recently retired from UNB after 10 years as nurse manager, co-manager of the Fredericton Downtown Community Health Centre, and a lecturer and clinical instructor.

Before her work with UNB, Ms. Kingston worked as a principal secretary for government affairs in the Office of the Premier of New Brunswick, and as a senior advisor to the Policy and Priorities Committee of the Cabinet of New Brunswick, from 2006 to 2010. She also served as a senior policy advisor in the Office of the Official Opposition from 2002 to 2006.

From 1995 to 1999, Ms. Kingston served as Member of the Legislative Assembly for New Maryland and, as a minister, she led various portfolios including Labour, Environment, and Human Rights. She also led the Minister’s Advisory Committee on Multiculturalism and chaired the New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women.

Ms. Kingston is an active community member and health advocate. She is the Chairperson of the Community Action Group on Homelessness and has been a member of the Specific Patient Oriented Research Network in Primary and Integrated Health Care Innovations, United Way Central New Brunswick, and the Fredericton Non-Profit Housing Corporation. She is a member of the Canadian Nurses Association, past president of the Nurses Association of New Brunswick, and was awarded a life membership in 2021. Ms. Kingston is a past co-chair of the Atlantic Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health Steering Committee, and a founding member of the predecessor to the Canadian Association of Perinatal and Women’s Health Nurses.

Ms. Kingston was inducted as Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Nursing in 2021. She holds a Bachelor of Nursing from the University of New Brunswick.

Tony Loffreda
Independent Senators Group (Québec – Shawinigan)

Hailing from the Ahuntsic neighbourhood in Montréal, Quebec, Tony Loffreda is a certified public accountant with 35 years of experience in the Canadian financial industry.

Mr. Loffreda holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Concordia University and has held numerous positions of increasing responsibility ranging from senior auditor and Regional Vice-President of Commercial Financial Services at the Royal Bank of Canada, Quebec headquarters, to the position as Vice-Chairman of Royal Bank of Canada Wealth Management.

Mr. Loffreda has served on various boards and committees, including the Concordia University Board of Governors, the Integrated Health and Social Services University Network for West-Central Montréal, “Montréal International”, the “Fondation communautaire Canadienne-Italienne” and the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Canada. He also previously served as a member of the executive committee of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montréal. 

He is a leading philanthropist, active in service to many communities, having chaired fundraising activities across the province for various causes such as the Giant Steps School, the Montréal Jewish General Hospital and the Montréal Cancer Institute. He is also a frequent and sought-after speaker on economic and community issues. 

Among his many awards and distinctions, he is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and has been awarded the Governor General of Canada Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers, the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec’s Gold Medal for Exceptional Merit, the Canadian Senate 150th Anniversary Medal and the Philhellene of the Year Award by the Hellenic Community of Greater Montréal. He was also inducted as an administrator into the Montréal-Concordia Regional Soccer Hall of Fame.

Jane MacAdam
Independent Senators Group (Prince Edward Island)

The Honourable Jane MacAdam, FCPA, CA, was appointed to the Senate of Canada in May 2023. Before she was summoned to the Senate, Senator MacAdam served as the Auditor General of Prince Edward Island from 2013 to 2020. Serving Islanders, she was responsible for leading independent audits and examinations that provide objective information, advice and assurance to the Legislative Assembly and promoting accountability and best practices in government operations.

She is a chartered professional accountant with over 40 years of experience in legislative auditing in the Office of the Auditor General of Prince Edward Island. This involved conducting various audits and examinations ranging from financial audits on the Public Accounts of the Province, crown corporations and agencies, as well as performance audits and examinations on a broad range of topics including but not limited to social assistance, health care, education, economic development, and housing programs to broader issues such as governance, performance reporting, lottery and gaming, and climate change.

Throughout her career, she has been a member of various professional organizations, including the Canadian Council of Legislative Auditors and several of its committees including strategic matters, governance, and health.

Ms MacAdam has been a longtime member of the Canadian Audit and Accountability Foundation, a foundation dedicated to advancing public sector performance audit, oversight, and accountability in Canada and abroad. Moreover, in 2022 she completed a three-year volunteer term on the Board of Directors of this Foundation.

In 2022, Ms MacAdam was appointed to the Departmental Audit Committee for Veterans Affairs Canada and served as its Chair prior to her appointment to the Senate. Ms MacAdam was awarded a Fellow designation from the Chartered Professional Accountants of Prince Edward Island, in recognition of her exceptional leadership and service to the profession.

Ms MacAdam holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Prince Edward Island and is a member of CPA Prince Edward Island.

She and her husband are longtime residents of the Morell area and have three adult children, Robert, Mitchell and Emily and five grandchildren.

Kim Pate
Independent Senators Group (Ontario)

Kim Pate was appointed to the Senate of Canada on November 10, 2016. The mother of Michael and Madison, she is also a nationally renowned advocate who has spent nearly 40 years working in and around the legal and penal systems of Canada, with and on behalf of some of the most marginalized, victimized, criminalized and institutionalized — particularly imprisoned youth, men and women.

Senator Pate graduated from Dalhousie Law School in 1984 with honours in the Clinical Law Programme and has completed post graduate work in the area of forensic mental health. She was the Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) from January 1992 until her appointment to the Senate in November 2016. CAEFS is a federation of local societies who provide services and work in coalition with Aboriginal women, women with mental health issues and other disabling conditions, young women, visible minority and immigrant women, poor women and those isolated and otherwise deprived of potential sources of support. Prior to her work with CAEFS, she worked with youth and men in a number of capacities with the local John Howard Society in Calgary, as well as the national office. She has developed and taught Prison Law, Human Rights and Social Justice and Defending Battered Women on Trial courses at the Faculties of Law at the University of Ottawa, Dalhousie University and the University of Saskatchewan. She also occupied the Sallows Chair in Human Rights at the University of Saskatchewan College of Law in 2014 and 2015.

Kim Pate is widely credited as the driving force behind the Inquiry into Certain Events at the Prison for Women in Kingston, headed by Justice Louise Arbour. During the Inquiry, she supported women as they aired their experiences and was a critical resource and witness in the Inquiry itself. She also persuaded the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to initiate the Self-Defence Review and appoint the Honourable Madam Justice Lynn Ratushny to review the convictions and sentences of women jailed for using lethal force to defend themselves and/or their children against abusive men. She then worked tirelessly in pursuit of the implementation of the many positive recommendations from both.

Senator Pate has been instrumental in building coalitions across the country with other equality-seeking women’s, anti-racism, anti-poverty and human rights groups and organizations; and, in this capacity, has worked with feminist legal scholars, lawyers, other professionals and front-line advocates and activists — from Indigenous communities to transition house and rape crisis centre workers.

Kim Pate is a member of the Order of Canada, a recipient of the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case, the Canadian Bar Association’s Bertha Wilson Touchstone Award, and six honourary doctorates (Law Society of Upper Canada, University of Ottawa, Carleton University, St. Thomas University, Nipissing University and Wilfrid Laurier University) and numerous other awards. Her extensive list of publications, national and international speaking engagements and her strategic intervention and advocacy for substantive equality testify to her commitment to broader social, economic and cultural change. She continues to make significant contributions to public education around the issues of women’s inequality and discriminatory treatment within social, economic and criminal justice spheres.

Senator Pate strongly believes that the contributions of women who have experienced marginalization, discrimination and oppression should be recognized and respected and she seeks to credit and empower women. She maintains contact with women in prison through her numerous visits to Canada’s federal prisons and strongly encourages other advocates, scholars, service providers, judges and parliamentarians to ground their efforts in a similar way.

Claude Carignan, Chair
Quebec (Mille Isles)

The Honourable Claude Carignan, P.C., was appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on August 27, 2009, and was Leader of the Opposition from November 2015 to March 2017.

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. Prior to that, in May 2011, he was appointed Deputy Leader of the Government.

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.

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.

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.

Legislation (44th Parliament)

• On November 24, 2021, Senator Carignan introduced Bill S-220, An Act to amend the Languages Skills Act (Governor General). The bill aims to add the office of Governor General to the list of offices subject to the Language Skills Act. The Bill has been debated several times at Second Reading but hasn’t been debated since November 2022. Along with this bill, Senator Carignan introduced Bill S-221, An Act to amend the Governor General’s Act (retiring annuity and other benefits), which aims to amend the Governor General’s Act to provide that a Governor General is not eligible for a retiring annuity or other benefits unless they hold office for at least five consecutive years. The bill has only been debated once at Second reading in April 2022.
• On December 1, 2021, Senator Carignan tabled Bill S-229, An Act to amend the Language Skills Act (Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick), which aims to add the office of Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick to the list of offices subject to the Language Skills Act. The bill has been debated twice at Second Reading but hasn't been debated since February 2022.
• On December 2, 2021, Senator Carignan introduced Bill S-231, An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Criminal Records Act, the National Defence Act and the DNA Identification Act. The bill aims to amend the Act to promote the DNA collection system and increase the number of DNA profiles stored in the national DNA data bank. The bill is currently at Report Stage in the Senate, and it was last debated on April 9, 2024.
• On December 16, 2021, Senator Carignan introduced Bill S-234, An Act to amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (final disposal of plastic waste) which amends the Act to prohibit the export of certain types of plastic waste to foreign countries for final disposal. The bill is currently being studied by the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources (ENEV).

Elizabeth Marshall
Conservative (Newfoundland and Labrador)

Elizabeth Marshall was appointed to the Senate of Canada in January of 2010 having previously spent 30 years with the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Service, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly. Since 1979, she occupied a number of positions in the provincial public service, including Deputy Minister of Transportation and Works, and Deputy Minister of Social Services, as well as several senior positions in the Department of Finance.

She was appointed Auditor General of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1992 and served in that position for 10 years. In 2003 she was elected as the Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly for the District of Topsail and was re-elected in 2007. She served as Minister of Health and Community Services from 2003-2004.

In 2011, Senator Marshall was appointed as the Government Whip in the Senate, a position she held until November 2015. She is currently a member of the Standing Senate Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration, the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance, and the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce.

She holds a Bachelor of Science (Math) degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, and has been a Chartered Accountant since 1979.

Senator Marshall has three children and resides in Paradise, Newfoundland and Labrador, with her husband.

Krista Ross
Canadian Senators Group (New Brunswick)

Krista Ross was appointed to the Senate of Canada representing New Brunswick on October 31, 2023 and sworn in on November 21, 2023.

Ms. Ross is a business and community leader who worked with the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce for 20 years (from 1989 to 1997 and from 2011 to 2023). During her time with the organization, Ms. Ross served for 12 years as Chief Executive Officer and for eight years as general manager. In these roles, she was a leading voice supporting Fredericton and New Brunswick’s development as a place of opportunity for individuals, businesses and community organizations.

In addition to her work with the Chamber of Commerce, Ms. Ross was also a private business owner and entrepreneur for many years.

Ms. Ross recently served as a commissioner with the Electoral Boundaries and Representation Commission for New Brunswick. She also serves on the board of the Fredericton Community Foundation, the University of New Brunswick Business Faculty Advisory Board, and the Ignite Fredericton Seed Board. She is an active supporter of immigration, and she provides mentorship and support to newcomers in Canada.

Ms. Ross has been celebrated for her community involvement and business leadership. She was recently named to the Chamber of Commerce Executives of Canada’s Council of Excellence, twice named Chamber Executive of the Year in Canada, and named a Top 50 CEO for Atlantic Canada. She is also a recipient of the Advocacy in Action Silver Award from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. In 2022, she was recognized by the New Brunswick Community College as an Alumna of Distinction; she also received the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal.

She holds a business diploma from the New Brunswick Community College. Ms. Ross and her daughter, Rachel, reside in Fredericton.

Larry W. Smith
Canadian Senators Group (Québec - Saurel)

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.

Pierre Dalphond
Quebec (De Lorimier)

Born in Joliette, Quebec, Senator Dalphond holds a law degree from the University of Montreal and a M. Phil. In Philosophy, Politics and Law from Oxford University, U.K.

He began his professional career in Ottawa (clerk to the Supreme Court of Canada, then legislative advisor to the Privy Council) before moving to Montreal to join a national firm, where he practised corporate and business law.

In 1995, he was appointed a Justice of the Quebec Superior Court. In 2002, he was elevated to the Quebec Court of Appeal. He wrote leading judgements on language rights, freedom of association, freedom of speech, treaty rights, separation of powers, class action, sharing of parental responsibilities and abuse of judicial process.

Throughout his career, he has written numerous legal articles, taught in faculties, given talks in Canada and abroad and organized training programs for judges (notably China, Brazil and Rwanda). He has been regularly involved with various social, cultural and political organizations.

In recognition of Senator Dalphond’s contributions, he was made a graduate emeritus of the University of Montreal. He was also awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal and the Governor General’s Academic Medal and was made an honorary member for life of the Young Bar of Montreal.

He was appointed on June 6, 2018, for the De Lorimier Division (Quebec) on the suggestion of the Board and the recommendation of the Prime Minister.

Clément Gignac
Progressive Senate Group (Quebec – Kennebec)

The Honourable Clément Gignac is an economist with over 35 years of experience in the public and private sectors. He was appointed as a Senator on July 29, 2021.

From 2012 until he became a Senator, Mr. Gignac held the position of Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist at iA Financial Group. He was the Group’s spokesperson on economic matters and chaired the Asset Allocation Committee. He was also responsible for managing diversified funds with assets in excess of $5 billion.

Prior to joining iA Financial Group, Mr. Gignac worked as an economist and strategist for major financial institutions, including as Vice-President and Chief Economist for National Bank Financial from 2000 to 2008.

In 2009, Mr. Gignac was elected as a member of the National Assembly of Québec. He was named Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade in the Quebec government, and went on to serve as Minister of Natural Resources and Wildlife from 2011 to 2012.

On the international scene, he chaired the World Economic Forum’s council on competitiveness in 2012. He is also a standing member of the Conference of Business Economists, a group of distinguished global economists based in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Gignac was awarded the Gloire de l’Escolle medal from Université Laval and is an honorary member of the Association des économistes québécois, a prestigious distinction that has only been bestowed upon 10 people since its inception in 1992.

Senator Gignac holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in economics from Université Laval. He is a married father of three and the proud grandfather of five.