Former labour leader, Liberal candidate among three new Senate appointments
Three new senators have been named to the upper chamber on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, including a high-profile labour leader and a political trailblazer who is also a former Liberal candidate.
Hassan Yussuff, who just stepped down from a seven-year term at the helm of the Canadian Labour Congress, will fill a seat in Ontario after a year in which he was in the spotlight advocating for emergency aid to workers.
Also being appointed is Jim Quinn, chief executive of the Saint John Port Authority, having steered the organization through the pandemic as ship traffic and revenues dropped. Quinn will fill a seat in New Brunswick.
On Twitter, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc called Quinn a "respected business leader and former (senior) public servant," while another longtime New Brunswick politician, Conservative Sen. Percy Mockler, wrote that Quinn's experience will be beneficial for the province and country.
Bernadette Clement, the current mayor of Cornwall, Ont., and the first Black woman to hold a mayoralty in the province, will fill a second seat in Ontario. She is also a former federal Liberal candidate, having run unsuccessfully in the 2011 and 2015 elections in the riding of Stormont--Dundas--South Glengarry.
In a Facebook post penned to the residents of her city, she announced the appointment and her immediate resignation from the position of mayor that she has held since being elected in 2018.
"I had hoped to remain mayor for the remainder of my term, or maybe more, if you were willing to have me," she wrote.
"But we don't control timing, only the readiness and openness to new opportunities. So while this magnificent story is unfinished, I have been asked to take on a different role which will continue to involve me in helping to add further chapters to our shared history."
The Prime Minister's Office said all will sit as Independents. In a statement, Trudeau said he looks forward to working with the three new senators who have dedicated their careers to public service.
Instead of political appointments made directly through the prime minister -- a process scorned for filling the chamber with partisan hacks, flacks and bagmen -- the Liberals have used an arm's length advisory board that vets applicants and recommends short lists of potential Senate nominees from which Trudeau fills vacancies in the upper house.
The Liberals say it creates an independent, merit-based selection process, which to date has led to Trudeau making 55 appointments since becoming prime minister, including the three on Tuesday.
Yussuff said in an interview that it was the non-partisan aspect that made him interested in applying for the job, as well as the chance to influence public policy for Canadian workers.
"I think I could make a contribution to that. I certainly made a contribution in my other life pushing governments to make good public policy that could impact workers and improve their livelihood," said Yussuff, who immigrated from Guyana at age 16.
"And I'm hoping in the Senate, I could bring that perspective and more importantly, collaborate with others who are committed to how we can move those issues forward."
Tom Reid, international vice-president for Canada of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said in a statement that Yussuff's appointment showed "labour is a top priority in building back better" from COVID-19 as Trudeau has repeatedly spoken about.
But others in the movement decried the appointment as reflecting a too-cozy relationship Yussuff had with the Liberals, including his support to former finance minister Bill Morneau's bid, later abandoned, to head the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
"The guy used his position as leader of the labour movement to be a cheerleader for Bill Morneau -- Canada's privatized pension king," tweeted New Democrat Charlie Angus. "Kinda says it all. He will be very comfortable in the Senate."
Two senators are set to hit the mandatory retirement age of 75 this summer -- Ontario's Jim Munson and New Brunswick's Carolyn Stewart Olsen -- with four more seats to come open by this time next year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 22, 2021.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid says he has Bell's palsy
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Local Spotlight
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fergus, Ont. man feels nickel-and-dimed for $0.05 property tax bill
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
'I'm committed': Oilers fan won't cut hair until Stanley Cup comes to Edmonton
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
'It's not my father's body!' Wrong man sent home after death on family vacation in Cuba
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
'Once is too many times': Education assistants facing rising violence in classrooms
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
What is capital gains tax? How is it going to affect the economy and the younger generations?
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
UBC football star turning heads in lead up to NFL draft
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.