Senate Appointments
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien announced today that His Excellency the Governor General has agreed to summon Sister Mary Alice (Peggy) Butts of Nova Scotia, Marisa Ferratti Barth of Quebec, Catherine Callbeck of Prince Edward Island and the Honourable Fernand Robichaud of New Brunswick to the Senate of Canada.
The appointments are effective immediately.
Biographies are attached.
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The Honourable Fernand Robichaud was born in Shippagan, New Brunswick in 1939.
In private life, Mr. Robichaud enjoyed success in the fields of education, community development and business.
He was elected to the House of Commons as a Member of Parliament in 1984, and was re-elected in 1988 and 1993. In Opposition, he filled several senior positions, including Assistant to the House Leader, Critic for Tourism and Critic for Fisheries and Oceans.
On November 4, 1993, he was sworn to the Privy Council as Secretary of State (Parliamentary Affairs). And on September 15, 1994 he was appointed Secretary of State (Agriculture and Agri-food, Fisheries and Oceans).
Mr. Robichaud retired from the House of Commons in April 1997. He and his wife Ginette Richard live in Saint-Louis-de-Kent, New Brunswick
Catherine Callbeck was born in 1939 in Central Bedeque, Prince Edward Island.
She has enjoyed an outstanding career in business and politics, at both the provincial and federal levels, culminating with her election in March 1993 as Premier of Prince Edward Island - the first women in Canadian history to be elected a First Minister.
Ms. Callbeck was elected to the Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly in 1974, and served as Minister of Health and Social Services & Minister responsible for the Disabled, until she returned to her family business, Callbeck's Ltd. in 1978. She was elected to the House of Commons as a Member of Parliament in 1988, where she served in Opposition in several critic positions, including Consumer & Corporate Affairs and Energy, Mines & Resources.
On January 1993, Ms. Callbeck was elected Leader of the Liberal Party of Prince Edward Island. She returned to private life in October 1996.
She resides in Central Bedeque, Prince Edward Island.
Sister Peggy Butts was born in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, in 1924.
She is a distinguished educator and social activist who has touched many lives for the better in her native Nova Scotia and across Canada.
She has given freely of her time to many provincial and national boards and committees dedicated to the cause of social justice. Her outstanding record of community involvement earned her the prestigious Weiler Award in 1996, as well as a Doctor of Laws Honoris Causa from St. Francis Xavier University in 1997.
Sister Butts has earned numerous academic credentials including, a Ph.D. in Political Theory and Canadian Government from the University of Toronto (1974), a Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of Ottawa (1962) and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from St. Francis Xavier University (1945). She retired from the University College of Cape Breton in 1994 after 18 years teaching courses in Political Theory and Canadian Government.
Sister Butts lives in Sydney, Nova Scotia.
Ms. Marisa Ferratti Barth is recognized in Quebec for her tireless efforts as a social worker and community organizer in the field of service delivery to senior citizens, especially with the Italian community and other ethnic groups.
After her studies in social science at the Catholic University of Milan, she held different positions in Canada while setting up numerous golden-age clubs. In 1974, she founded the Regional Council of Italian- Canadian Seniors, of which she is Director General since 1975. From 1984 to 1988, she also worked as a board member of the National Congress of Italian Canadians (Quebec Region).
In 1986 she was chosen Woman of the Year in the social and humanitarian field. Among the many distinctions she was awarded, this best symbolizes her professional dedication and her attachment to the integration of immigrants in Quebec.
Ms. Barth lives in Pierrefonds, Quebec.