OTTAWA, March 28, 2018 – Today, ISG Facilitator Senator Yuen Pau Woo and ISG Deputy Facilitator, Senator Raymonde Saint-Germain, announced that Dr. Yvonne Boyer (Ontario) will join the Independent Senators Group. Dr. Boyer is a member of the Métis nation of Ontario and a member of both the Law Society of Ontario and of the Law Society of Saskatchewan.
Senator Boyer, who has practiced law for more than two decades, is a professor at the University of Ottawa as well as a Research Affiliate and Adjunct Professor at the University of Regina. Previously she was the Canada Research Chair in Aboriginal Health and Wellness at Brandon University. Senator Boyer also has ancestral roots in the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan and the Red River and has published extensively on First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples.
“Senator Boyer’s expertise will add to the diversity of thought that exists within our Group and in the Senate as a whole,” said Senator Woo, ISG Facilitator. “We welcome her to a parliamentary group that is committed to independent, non-partisan review of legislation, and the modernization of the Senate.”
“I decided to become a member of the ISG because I was appointed as an independent senator and to me that means that no one will influence my vote. I will be able and expected to make the best decisions based on my own set of skills, knowledge and expertise,” said Senator Boyer. “I also like the fact that there is a group of like-minded independent individuals with unique and diverse skill sets with whom I will be able to discuss the complex and pressing issues before us.”
Established in 2016, The Independent Senators Group (ISG) is committed to a non-partisan Senate and the modernization of the Upper House of Canada’s Parliament. With 44 members, the ISG is the largest parliamentary group in the Senate. Composed of independents not affiliated with any political caucus, ISG Senators work cooperatively but act independently.
The ISG’s Facilitator is Senator Yuen Pau Woo (BC) and the Deputy Facilitator is Raymonde Saint-Germain (QC), each elected by members on a two-year term (until 2019). ISG senators have been appointed over the years by five different Prime Ministers, with most of the current membership selected through The Independent Advisory Board for Senate appointments process.
www.ISGsenate.ca #ISGsenate @ISGsenate
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For more information, please contact:
Aline Lafrenière
Director of Communications
Independent Senators Group (ISG) Secretariat
aline.lafreniere@sen.parl.gc.ca
819-664-1564