Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy (BANC) (May 30, 2014)
ANNEX A: BANC Committee member profiles
Committee member profiles
Complete biographies available here: Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy (44th Parliament, 1st Session) (sencanada.ca)
Chair: Pamela Wallin
- The Honourable Pamela Wallin, O.C., S.O.M. was appointed to the Senate of Canada on December 22, 2008. She sits as an Independent Senator from Saskatchewan.
- Pamela served as Canada’s Consul General in New York from 2002-2006, in the wake of the tragic and tumultuous events of 9/11. She was then named to the Special Independent Panel on Canada’s Future Role in Afghanistan who successfully recommended support and airlift for our service men and women. She is committed to building and enhancing the military/civilian understanding and continues to work with veterans.
Deputy Chair: Tony Loffreda
- Mr. Tony Loffreda was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 2019 by the Governor General of Canada on the advice of the Prime Minister. He is the first Canadian born Senator of Italian descent.
- He also sits on the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance and the Standing Senate Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration. He also serves as Deputy Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade, and the Economy. Senator Loffreda also serves on several Senate Working Groups. He is a member of various parliamentary associations and interparliamentary groups, including serving as Vice-Chair of the Canada-Italy Interparliamentary Group and Chair of the Canadian Chapter of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. He is a member of the Independent Senators Group.
- Prior to his appointment, Senator Loffreda was a Vice Chairman and Executive at RBC. He brings to the Senate over 35 years of experience in the financial industry.
Member: Diane Bellemare
- She was appointed Senator in 2012 by Prime Minister Harper. She now sit as an independent senator since March 2016.
- In the 42nd Parliament, she served as Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative (formerly Deputy Leader). At the beginning of the 44th Parliament, she joined the Progressive Senate Group (PSG) and became Chair of the Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament, as well as a member of steering on the Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce.
- Bellemare taught at the University of Quebec at Montreal from 1972 to 1994 in the economics department and, from 1991 to 1994, in the business administration department. Her areas of specialization included macroeconomics, labour economics and public policy. She published several books and academic articles on the subjects of full employment, income security, pension and population aging. The last one, Créer et Partager la Prospérité, was published in 2013 by the Presses de l’Université du Québec.
Member: Colin Deacon
- The Honourable Colin Deacon was appointed to the Senate in June 2018 as an Independent Senator representing Nova Scotia.
- In 2009, he founded BlueLight Analytics, a company in the restorative dentistry field. Until 2006, he served as CEO of SpellRead, which improved reading skills among children and adults, and was regularly cited as one of Atlantic Canada’s fastest-growing companies.
- Since 2018, Senator Deacon has been an active and highly engaged member of the Standing Senate Committees on Banking, Trade and Commerce as well as Agriculture and Forestry.
Member: Clément Gignac
- 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.
- 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.
Member: Elizabeth Marshall
- 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.
- 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 National Finance, and the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy.
Member: Yonah Martin
- The Honourable Yonah Martin (born April 11, 1965) is a Conservative Senator from British Columbia, appointed by The Right Hon. Stephen Harper in 2009. She is the first Canadian of Korean descent to serve in the Senate of Canada and the first Korean-Canadian parliamentarian in Canadian history.
- Senator Martin is currently the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (since November 2015). She previously served as the Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate (2013-2015); and as the Deputy Whip of the Government (2011-2013). She has been Co-Chair of the Canada Korea Inter-Parliamentary Group since 2009; and Chairs or serves on the Executive of various interparliamentary groups. In November 2015, she co-founded International Parliamentary Coalition for Victims of Sexual Slavery (IPCVSS), and currently serves as Co-Chair of Canada.
- Her notable achievements as a Senator to date include the enactment of her Senate Public Bill - Korean War Veterans Day Act (June 2013); the successful campaign to add TCM and Acupuncturists to the schedule of health professionals for GST/HST exemption (April 2014); and the conclusion of a multi-year negotiation process and implementation of the historic Canada Korea FTA (January 2016).
Member: Paul Massicotte
- Senator Massicotte was appointed to the Senate on June 26, 2003, on the advice of the Right Honourable Jean Chrétien. He has joined the Independent Senators Group in October 2017.
- He is currently Chair of the Standing Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources and a member of the Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament. He has previously served on numerous other committees including the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the Special Committee on Senate Modernization, the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration and on the Standing Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce.
Member: Julie Miville-Deschêne
- Since her appointment to the Senate in 2018, Julie Miville-Dechêne has presented two senatorial initiative bills: the new law Bill S-211, against forced labour and child labour in supply chains, effective January 1, 2024; and Bill S-210 which would make it mandatory to implement age verification mechanisms to protect minors from exposure to online pornography. This latest bill was adopted in April 2023 by the Senate and is currently under study in the House of Commons.
- She is vice-chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications.
Member: Iris G. Petten
- The Honourable Iris G. Petten is an entrepreneur, community volunteer, and senior executive who was appointed to the Senate of Canada on May 3rd, 2023. .
- Ms. Petten served three terms as the chair of the Board of Regents of Memorial University of Newfoundland, from 2013 to 2022. She was a member of the 2019 Premier’s Economic Recovery Team chaired by Dame Moya Greene, and the Atlantic Premiers’ Panel on Impacts of Changes to Employment Insurance.
Member: Krista Ross
- Appointed to the Senate of Canada on October 31, 2023.
- Served with the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce, including as general manager and CEO, between 1989 to 1997 and 2011 to 2023).
- Also a private business owner and entrepreneur for many years.
Member: Toni Varone
- Toni Varone was appointed to the Senate on December 20, 2023.
- As President of the Varone Group since 1995, Mr. Varone oversees an array of companies specializing in services relating to hospitality, construction, land development, and property management. Throughout his career, Mr. Varone has been involved in various community and government initiatives in pursuit of creating safe and affordable housing for those in need.
Member: Hassan Yussuf
- On June 22, 2021, Yussuff was appointed by Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to the Senate of Canada.
- Mr. Yussuff served on the Government of Canada’s NAFTA Council and its Sustainable Development Advisory Council. He also contributed to numerous other task forces and organizations, including as co-chair of the Task Force on Just Transition for Canadian Coal Power Workers and Communities, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Institute of Disability Management and Research. He was recently appointed to the Net-Zero Advisory Body by the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change. He has recently been part of the Industry Advisory Roundtable on COVID-19 Testing, Screening, Tracing and Data Management and the COVID Communications Partners Roundtable.