Maria Chaput

The Honourable
Maria Chaput
Senator from Manitoba
Assumed office
December 12, 2002
Appointed by Adrienne Clarkson
Personal details
Born (1942-05-07) May 7, 1942
Ste. Anne, Manitoba
Political party Liberal

Maria Chaput (born May 7, 1942) is a current member of the Canadian Senate representing the Senatorial Division of Manitoba. She is the first franco-Manitoban woman to be appointed to the upper house of the Parliament of Canada.

On January 29, 2014, Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau announced all Liberal Senators, including Maria Chaput, were removed from the Liberal caucus, and would continue sitting as Independents.[1] According to Senate Opposition leader James Cowan, the Senators will still refer to themselves as Liberals even if they are no longer members of the parliamentary Liberal caucus.[2]

Chaput announced her retirement from the Senate on February 4, 2016, effective March 1, 2016, due to kidney health issues she'd been managing for "a few years." Despite her doctor's recommendation, she held off retirement until the Liberals won the 2015 federal election saying: "I just didn't want to give my seat to [ Stephen Harper ]. That's what I told my doctor and he said, 'Well, that's your decision,' and I said 'Exactly.'"[3] She supported Trudeau's move to a non-partisan senate appointment process.

References

  1. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/justin-trudeau-removes-senators-from-liberal-caucus-1.2515273
  2. "Trudeau’s expulsion catches Liberal senators by surprise". Globe and Mail. January 29, 2014. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  3. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/maria-chaput-resigns-1.3433295

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, February 15, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.