House Standing Committee on Finance (May 31, 2024)
ANNEX A: Committee member profiles and key personnel
Key personnel
Aside from the contributions of committee members (see Annex A), several roles support FINA’s work:
- Chair: responsible for enforcing the rules during meetings. As a sitting Member of Parliament (MP) who is elected by fellow committee members, the committee chair becomes the spokesperson for the committee.
- Vice-Chairs: two MPs who serve as replacements and preside over meetings when the Chair is unable to attend. All the Chair’s powers can be delegated to the Vice-Chairs, but the Vice-Chairs cannot preside over a meeting while the office of Chair is vacant. Normally, Vice-Chairs also serve as members of the sub-committee on agenda and procedure.
- Clerk of the Committee: a non-partisan (politically neutral) Senate or House of Commons employee (i.e., not an MP) with expertise on rules and procedures. The Clerk is the chief procedural, administrative and information officer for the committee and drafts the minutes, which serve as the official record of a meeting. They are also responsible for inviting witnesses and dealing with all the details regarding their appearance before the committee.
- Committee Assistant: provides a wide range of specialized administrative services for the organization of committee meetings and the publishing of documents on the committee’s Website. The committee assistant works with the clerk to meet the needs of the committee.
- Analysts are non-partisan Library of Parliament employees who support the work of committees by researching topics on request. They are part of the committee’s institutional memory and are a unique resource for parliamentarians. Analysts support parliamentarians during committee meetings and help answer questions. They also write papers and briefing notes and draft reports about topics the committee discusses.
- Parliamentary reporters (Senate) and proceedings and verification officers (House of Commons) create a written record of committee discussions.
FINA Committee member profiles
Chair: Peter Fonseca
MP Fonseca is the Member of Parliament for Mississauga East-Cooksville and an Olympian who proudly represented Canada as a top Marathon runner. He sat in the Ontario Legislature as a Member of Provincial Parliament between 2003 and 2011, and served as a Cabinet Minister, taking on the Labour and Tourism & Recreation portfolios. He also served parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care and to the Minister of Health Promotion.
KEYWORDS: healthcare
Vice-Chair: Jasraj Singh Hallan
MP Singh Hallan was elected as the Member of Parliament for Calgary Forest Lawn in October 2019. He holds an accounting diploma from SAIT, a certified Master Builder designation, and ran a successful homebuilding business in Calgary. Jasraj serves as the Shadow Minister of Finance and Middle Class Prosperity and Vice-Chair of the Finance Committee.
KEYWORDS: housing, accounting, fiscal
RECENT HOUSE STATEMENTS:
Vice-Chair: Gabriel Ste-Marie
MP Ste-Marie has represented the riding of Joliette since 2015. He holds an economics degree from l’Université du Québec à Montréal and teaches economics at Cégep régional de Lanaudière. He is also a researcher at the Contemporary Economics Research Institute and lecturer at Université du Québec à Montréal.
KEYWORDS: economics, academia, anti-tax-havens
Member: Yvan Baker
MP Baker is the Member of Parliament for Etobicoke Centre. He is a member of the Standing Committee on Finance and a former Ontario MPP. Prior to being elected, Yvan taught MBA students at the Schulich School of Business at York University. During that time, Yvan also operated his own management consulting practice. Prior to starting his own practice, Yvan holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and a BBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University, where he also taught MBA students.
KEYWORDS: management consulting, Ukraine, academia, MBA
Member: Adam Chambers
MP Chambers holds law and MBA degrees from Western University in Ontario. Most recently, Adam served as Assistant Vice President at one of Canada’s largest life insurance companies. He previously worked as a senior advisor to Canada’s Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty during the Global Financial Crisis. Adam is also an entrepreneur, founding an online education platform to assist college and university students with licensing exams. To date, they have served over 13,000 students.
KEYWORDS: entrepreneurship, insurance, licensing
Member: Don Davies
MP Davies is Member of Parliament for Vancouver-Kingsway. He was first elected in 2008, and re-elected in 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2021. He serves at the NDP Critic for Finance and Deputy Critic for Foreign Affairs and International Development. Prior to his election, he worked as a lawyer, labour representative and policy advisor. Throughout his career he has worked with private sector businesses to improve their HR practices.
KEYWORDS: transparency, housing, disability advocacy
Member: Julie Dzerowicz
Elected in 2015, and re-elected in 2019 and 2021, MP Dzerowicz is the first female Member of Parliament to represent the riding of Davenport. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University and an MBA at the University of British Columbia. During the 43rd Parliament, she introduced Bill C-273: An Act to Establish a National Strategy for a Guaranteed Basic Income. Before becoming an MP, Julie spent more than 20 years in the private sector (investment banking, banking and biotechnology). At BMO Bank of Montreal, she was instrumental in creating and launching the email money transfer service in Canada.
KEYWORDS: banking, guaranteed basic income
RECENT HOUSE STATEMENTS:
Member: Philip Lawrence
First elected in 2019, MP Lawrence is Member of Parliament from Northumberland–Peterborough South. He is currently serving as the Shadow Minister for Federal Economic Development Agency for Eastern, Central and Southern Ontario, and has previously served as the Shadow Minister for National Revenue. He holds a Law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business. He practiced Tax Law before entering financial services, where he spent 10+ years.
KEYWORDS: tax law, regions, national revenue, financial services
RECENT HOUSE STATEMENTS:
November 20, 2023: Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this NDP-Liberal government, millions of Canadians can never afford to buy a home, and millions of Canadians cannot afford to keep their home. According to a recent Scotiabank report, the cost of the average mortgage is going to go up by more than $700 because of the Liberals’ profligate spending. [MORE…]
Member: Marty Morantz
MP Morantz is the MP for Charleswood – St. James – Assiniboia – Headingley.
He graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1986 and worked as a partner at the law firm of Levene Tadman LLP in Winnipeg. He practiced mainly in the areas of real estate law, corporate law, and wills and estates. A former Winnipeg city councillor, in 2019 he was elected as the Member of Parliament for Charleswood -St. James -Assiniboia-Headingley.
KEYWORDS: real estate law, municipal politics
Member: Francesco Sorbara
As the Member of Parliament for Vaughan-Woodbridge, Francesco Sorbara is the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue. He sits on the House of Commons Standing Committee of Public Accounts and is an associate member of the House of Commons Standing Committee of Finance. Francesco is Vice-Chair of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group, and Executive Member of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association.
An economist by training and a CFA Charterholder, Francesco worked in the global financial markets in both Canada and the United States for JPMorgan Chase, DBRS, and the Bank of Nova Scotia. Originally from Prince Rupert, B.C., Francesco earned an honours degree in economics & finance from Simon Fraser University and a Masters of Arts (Economics) from the University of Toronto. Before entering public life, Francesco worked in the private sector for approximately twenty years.
KEYWORDS: finance, economics
Member: Joanne Thompson
MP Thompson was elected the Member of Parliament for St. John’s East in September 2021. She is Chair of the National Seniors Caucus and sits on the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development and the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. She worked as a Registered Nurse while attending Memorial University part-time, and holds a Bachelor of Nursing and a MBA specializing in social enterprise. In 2018 she was named a Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Champion and also received the Senate of Canada Sesquicentennial Medal.
KEYWORDS: healthcare, nursing, MBA, social enterprise
Member: Ryan Turnbull
MP Turnbull was elected Member of Parliament for Whitby in 2019 and re-elected in 2021. In September 2023, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. He is a social entrepreneur who is passionate about social issues as well as building a sustainable, eco-responsible economy. He holds an Honours BA with High Honours and a Master’s in Philosophy from Carleton University.
KEYWORDS: social entrepreneurship, environment, energy efficiency