Local educator and 4-H leader named to Senate

Martha Deacon and Robert Black have been appointed to represent Ontario in the Senate. (olympic.ca / robblack.ca)

Two new senators named to represent Ontario have strong ties to Waterloo-Wellington.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday that Martha Deacon and Robert Black have been appointed to the Senate by Gov. Gen. Julie Payette.

Deacon is a former principal and superintendent with the Waterloo Region District School Board. She is better known nationally for her work in the national sporting scene.

She is a director on the Canadian Olmypic Committee and was Canada’s Chef de Mission for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Locally, she is also a member of the Cambridge Sports Hall of Fame.

Black has more than 40 years of involvement with 4-H Ontario, including as the organization’s first executive director. He worked for the provincial government for 15 years and was also the general manager of the Ontario Soybean Growers. In 2014, he was elected as a municipal councillor in Wellington County.

“I am delighted to welcome these accomplished Ontarians to the Senate,” Trudeau said in a press release.

“I am confident that Parliament will benefit from Ms. Deacon and Mr. Black’s knowledge and experience, and that they will be great ambassadors for their region and communities.”

Deacon and Black will both sit as independent senators.

All Canadians are eligible to apply for Senate seats. An advisory board recommends candidates to the prime minister, who then makes his recommendations to the Governor-General.