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Trudeau appoints former top civil servant, medical association president as senators

Click to play video: 'Ethics committee grills government officials about WE contract'
Ethics committee grills government officials about WE contract
The House of Commons ethics committee has grilled cabinet ministers Bardish Chagger and Carla Qualtrough, along with Privy Council Clerk Ian Shugart, about the controversial WE Charity contract. Abigail Bimman reports – Aug 11, 2020

Ian Shugart, a longtime bureaucrat and the country’s top civil servant during the first part of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been tapped for a seat in the Senate.

Dr. Gigi Osler, a Winnipeg surgeon, University of Manitoba professor and president of the Federation of Medical Women in Canada, is also set to become a senator.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the picks today after the two were recommended to him by the independent advisory board for appointments to the upper chamber.

Shugart, who will represent Ontario, stepped down as the clerk of the Privy Council in early 2021 to undergo cancer treatments and formally retired in May after a long public service career.

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Trudeau also appointed him to the King’s Privy Council today, adding his name to a list that includes past and present cabinet ministers and people “honoured for their contributions to Canada,” according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

Osler, who will represent Manitoba, became the first female surgeon and the first racialized woman to hold the presidency at the Canadian Medical Association in 2018.

Click to play video: 'WE scandal: Shugart says public service warned Auditor General ‘there would be mistakes’ amid coronavirus pandemic'
WE scandal: Shugart says public service warned Auditor General ‘there would be mistakes’ amid coronavirus pandemic

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