Conservative Senator JoAnne Buth resigns

CTV News Channel: Conservative senator resigns Mercedes Stephenson says Senator Joanne Buth is leaving the Senate to pursue a career in the private sector.

Conservative Sen. JoAnne Buth has resigned from the Senate after serving less than three years in the Upper Chamber.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed Buth on Jan. 6, 2012 to represent Manitoba.

Sen. Claude Carignan, government leader in the Senate, said Buth is stepping down to become CEO of the Canadian International Grains Institute.

“Her stay in the Senate, too short, will be remembered for her valuable contribution to the work of the Senate and to democracy in Canada,” Carignan said in a statement.

Senators “will remember the important work” Buth did as a member of the Senate’s Agriculture and Forestry, and National Finance committees, he said.

“On behalf of all my Conservative Senate colleagues, I wish her the best of luck in her endeavors, and I would like to offer my personal best wishes in her new responsibilities,” Carignan said.

Buth spent much of her career before politics working in the agriculture sector, including in the soils and crops branch of Manitoba Agriculture and as an information officer for the Agriculture Canada Research Station in Winnipeg.

Prior to her appointment to the Senate, Buth served as president of the Canola Council of Canada for five years and as vice-president for eight.