By Lincoln DePradine
As a newly appointed senator, Paulette Senior faced the usual challenges that accompany a life in politics, as well as confronting an almost immediate family tragedy.
She now has, saying she’s “looking forward to sharing updates about my work as Senator for Ontario”.
Jamaica-born Senior, a York University graduate and former CEO of the Canadian Women’s Foundation (CWF), was appointed to the senate on December 20, 2023, on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Senior, in announcing that she was leaving the CWF, said it was “a difficult decision to make” to no longer be with “the most wonderful supporters for gender justice and equality, and alongside an amazing team of movers and shakers”.
She promised that as a senator, she intended to contribute “in new ways to build a better Canada for all”.
Just weeks after being formally sworn in as an independent senator in the Upper House of Parliament, Senior’s son— educator and consultant Jay Williams—died suddenly last February 29. He was 40.
Despite an extended leave of absence, following her son’s passing, Senior pointed to parliamentary work she still accomplished, including joining the “Independent Senators Group (ISG) to enhance my learning in the senate, while working with my esteemed peers in the ISG and, indeed, all senators across the various groups”.
In a social media post, Senior said she also was “happy to become a member of the Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology and the Senate Committee on Human Rights”.
She also listed, as some of the highlights of her work, delivering a senate speech commemorating “National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women”.
In addition, Senior co-hosted a roundtable with “international women civic society leaders, as well as a panel with Somali women leaders addressing harmful gender practices and gender equality”.
“With my colleagues in the African Canadian Senate Group,” Senior added, “I was honoured to meet Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the former President of Liberia.”
Sirleaf, the first woman to lead an African nation, “is a true pioneer and a force”, said Senior.
“As a member of the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council, it was an honour to attend the launch of the council’s 2024 report in Italy,” Senior said.
“I look forward to continuing to work with the council as Canada prepares to host the G7 this year,” she said. “I also encourage you to follow me on my new accounts on X and Instagram.”
LJI reporter
