Yonah Martin

The Honourable Yonah Martin
Senator from British Columbia
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2, 2009
Appointed by	Stephen Harper
Personal details
Born	(1965-04-11) April 11, 1965 Seoul, South Korea
Political party	Conservative
Religion	United

Yonah Kim-Martin (born April 11, 1965) is a Conservative Senator from British Columbia. She was appointed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and is the first Canadian of Korean descent to hold federal public office.

A professional educator for twenty-one years, Martin graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1987 and taught English and drama at W.J. Mouat Secondary School in Abbotsford, BC, for fourteen years. She earned a Master of Education degree in 1996, and went on to teach at several more schools in Burnaby and Coquitlam school districts until her Senate appointment, effective January 2, 2009. She ran as a Conservative candidate in the 2008 federal election. Martin was narrowly defeated, but shortly thereafter appointed to the Senate.

Born in Seoul, South Korea, Martin immigrated to Canada with her family in 1972, settling in Vancouver. With deep roots in both Korean and Canadian heritage, she became a prominent community figure in 2003 when she co-founded a non-profit organization, the Corean Canadian Coactive (C3) Society.^[1]

Martin currently serves on several other boards and committees, including the Multicultural Advisory Council of BC (since 2006),.^[2] She is an alumna and honorary patron of the St. Patrick Regional Secondary School Concert and Chamber Choirs, and has been part of the organizing committee for the annual Korean Heritage Day Festival since 2003. In recognition of her community service in the Tri-Cities area, Martin was awarded the 2004 Spirit of Community Award for Cultural Harmony^[3] She was also awarded the Order of Civil Merit Moran Medal on October 9, 2009 by the Republic of Korea for National Development in the enhancement of the rights of overseas Koreans.

She has been married to Doug Martin since 1990 and they have one daughter, Kiana Mi-Sun.

Electoral record

Yonah Martin stood as a candidate in the federal riding of New Westminster--Coquitlam.

Senate record

Martin distinguished herself by authoring the motion that led on 5 November 2013 to the suspension of her colleagues Senators Patrick Brazeau, Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin.

References

External links

• Yonah Martin
• Yonah Martin – Parliament of Canada biography

v t e Current members of the Senate of Canada AB Black McCoy Mitchell Tannas Tardif Unger BC Campbell Jaffer Greene Martin Neufeld one vacancy MB Buth Chaput Johnson Plett two vacancies NB Day Kinsella Lovelace Nicholas McIntyre Mockler Poirier Ringuette Robichaud Stewart-Olsen Wallace NL Baker Doyle Furey Marshall Manning Wells NS Cordy Cowan Greene MacDonald McInnis Mercer Moore Ogilvie two vacancies ON Ataullahjan Beyak Charette-Poulin Cools Eaton Enverga Eggleton Frum Gerstein Kenny LeBreton Meredith Munson Ngo Oh Runciman Ruth Seth D. Smith White four vacancies PE Callbeck Downe Duffy Hubley QC Bellemare Boisvenu Brazeau Carignan Champagne Dallaire Dagenais Dawson Demers Fortin-Duplessis Fraser Hervieux-Payette Housakos Joyal Maltais Massicotte Nolin Rivard Rivest Seidman L. Smith Verner Watt one vacancy SK Andreychuk Batters Dyck Merchant Tkachuk Wallin Territories NT Sibbeston NU Patterson YT Lang Conservative (C) Independent (Ind.) or Not affiliated (N/A) Liberal (L) Progressive Conservative (PC)

v t e Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology Chair Art Eggleton Vice Chair Kelvin Ogilvie Members David Braley Catherine Callbeck Andrée Champagne Jane Cordy Lillian Dyck Nicole Eaton Yonah Martin Pana Merchant Bob Runciman Judith Seidman