U of T's Rosemary Moodie named to Senate

noreen.rasbach — Thu, 13 Dec 2018 21:53:51 +0000

noreen.rasbach Thu, 12/13/2018 - 16:53

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U of T's Dr. Rosemary Moodie is one of four senators named by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday (photo courtesy of SickKids)

Heidi Singer

Topic

Global Lens

Equity

Faculty of Medicine

Senate

Dr. Rosemary Moodie, an associate professor of pediatrics in the ��Ƶ's Faculty of Medicine, has been appointed to the Senate of Canada. Moodie is a distinguished neonatologist – helping pre-term babies to survive and thrive.

Born in Jamaica, Moodie is known as an advocate for women and girls, and for her work to reduce social inequity in health care. She has published research on breastfeeding and neonatal issues.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the appointment of Dr. Moodie and three others yesterday.

“These four new independent senators bring with them a wealth of knowledge and experience that will greatly benefit Parliament and all of Canada,” said Trudeau. “They know what it means to serve, and have dedicated their careers to making a difference in the lives of others. I look forward to working with them on issues that matter most to Canadians.”

Moodie graduated from the University of West Indies before obtaining post-graduate training in pediatric medicine and neonatology at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). She also holds an MBA and master's of public administration. She is past medical director and corporate chief of pediatrics of the Regional Maternal Child Program Rouge Valley Health System; lead for Maternal, Child, Youth and Gynaecology of the Central East LHIN; and served on regional and provincial committees advocating to improve health equity and expand quality health-care access for children. She has worked extensively in underrepresented parts of Toronto such as the Jane-Finch community.

“During medical training I realized that women and children face significant barriers to good health and well-being,” Moodie told Canadian Immigrant magazine in 2015. “I have advocated improving health equity and expanding quality health-care access for women and children.”

Moodie has received numerous awards and honours from governments and academic organizations for her work in pediatrics. She is a winner of the U of T Alumni Association’s Carl Mitchell Award for Community Engagement, and was a torchbearer in the 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games.

As a senator, Moodie will help to revise legislation, investigate national issues, and represent regional and minority issues.

U of T’s Tony Dean appointed to Senate

lavende4 — Mon, 31 Oct 2016 20:37:29 +0000

U of T’s Tony Dean appointed to Senate

lavende4 Mon, 10/31/2016 - 16:37

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Tony Dean: “I am honoured that the Prime Minister has nominated me to serve in the Senate during this important period of reform” (Photo by Marie Boutilier )

Terry Lavender

Author legacy

Terry Lavender

Topic

Our Community

Senate

School of Public Policy & Governance

Tony Dean

U of T

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is recommending the appointment of ��Ƶ Professor Tony Dean to the Canadian Senate, the Prime Minister announced today.

Dean is a professor at U of T’s School of Public Policy & Governance (SPPG) in the Faculty of Arts & Science. He was a senior civil servant in the Ontario government before coming to U of T in 2009. He served as secretary of the cabinet, head of the Ontario Public Service, deputy minister of labour and as the deputy minister in the cabinet office responsible for cross-government policy coordination.

Dean was one of six independent senators named from Ontario. Howard Wetston, a Jackman Adjunct Professor at U of T’s Faculty of Law was also named. Wetston is a former federal court judge who once led the Ontario Securities Commission and Ontario Energy Board. The appointments are formally subject to the approval of the Governor General.

Dean said he looked forward to serving his country as a senator.

“I am honoured that the Prime Minister has nominated me to serve in the Senate during this important period of reform," he said. "Following a long career as a non-partisan public servant, I would only contemplate serving the public in an independent capacity.

“The Prime Minister was clear that he expects me to make a significant contribution to the work of the Senate, and to help tackle the broad range of challenges and opportunities facing the country.”

SPPG Director Peter Loewen said Dean was a good choice for the Senate.

“Tony Dean is the ideal public servant,” Loewen said. “He is principled, intelligent, innovative and committed to the public good. We’ve been very lucky to have him at the School of Public Policy & Governance. Our loss is Canada’s gain.

“Tony has a remarkable record of achievement, including reaching the highest level of the public service in Ontario. Under his watch, the province fundamentally changed the way citizens received everyday services from the government. It was just one achievement in a long list.”

The other senators named today were Gwen Boniface, former commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police; Sabi Marwah, recently retired as vice-chairman and chief operating officer at Scotiabank; Lucie Moncion, president and chief executive officer of the Alliance des Caisses Populaires de L’Ontario; and Kimberly Pate, executive director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies.

With the new appointments today and nine appointments made last week, there are now 38 non-affiliated senators along with 21 Liberals and 40 Conservatives. The 15 appointments made in the past two weeks were the first since Trudeau introduced new mechanisms to nominate and choose senators to restore it as an independent chamber of “sober second thought”.

U of T constitutional expert David Schneiderman said it is too early to say whether Trudeau will succeed in reforming the Senate.

“There are many problems that could arise,” said Schneiderman, a professor in the Faculty of Law. “Independent senators in an already powerful Senate might give rise to more flexing of independent muscle. These folks, even if impressive, are not elected or accountable.

“The other thing to note, again hypothetically speaking, is that independent senators can still organize themselves. We might find voting blocs and coalitions arising within the independent flank or working with the party appointees still sitting in the chamber. Partisan rule, of one sort or another, may be inevitable. It may be the only way to get things done in an upper chamber.”