CEMA SPEAKER SERIES: Hon. Jean Augustine, PC, CM
Ontario Fairness Commissioner Thursday, December 6, 2012, 6:45 p.m.
Venue: OMNI Television, 33 Dundas Street East (Victoria & Dundas just east of Yonge-Dundas Square This location is accessible via TTC at Dundas Station. There are also several paid parking lots in the vicinity.)
BIO: Hon. Jean Augustine was appointed as the first Fairness Commissioner for Ontario in March 2007. She cares passionately about education and the challenges faced by newcomers to the province. From 1988 until 1993, she was chair of the Metro Toronto Housing Authority. Ms. Augustine was the first African-Canadian woman to be elected to the House of Commons. She was elected in the riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore in 1993 and sat in Parliament until 2006. During this time, she served as minister of state for multiculturalism and the status of women, sat on several standing committees, and was a deputy Speaker. She also played a major role as parliamentary secretary to the prime minister. In 2007, she was chair of the Ontario Bicentenary Commemorative Committee on the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act. She has been honoured by many organizations for her leadership and community involvement and has been awarded honorary doctor of laws degrees by the University of Toronto, the University of Guelph, McGill University and York University. In December 2009, she was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada.
