There has been another revamping of the membership of the senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans.
Liberal Jim Munson had been named vice chair of the committee in October to replace the vacant spot left after the retirement of P.E.I. senator Libbe Hubley. The former broadcaster remains on the committee as a member, but the new vice chair is Marc Gold, an independent senator from Quebec.
The change was part of a restructuring of committees in the Red Chamber to reflect the fact independent senators are now the largest caucus. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has vowed to appoint only independent senators during his term in office.
Gold has a record of achievement both professionally and in service to the community. In his early career as a law professor at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, he published extensively, lectured throughout Canada and abroad, and was one of a handful of academics solicited to provide training in constitutional law and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for federally-appointed judges.
He left full-time academic life 25 years ago, and has since made significant contributions through service to the community. He has held major leadership roles in the Jewish community at the local, national and international levels, including being chair of Jewish Federations of Canada.
Conservative Fabian Manning from Newfoundland and Labrador continues to chair the committee. In addition to Munson, the other committee members are Dan Christmas (independent, Nova Scotia); Stephen Greene (independent, Halifax-The Citadel); Nancy J. Hartling (independent, New Brunswick); Thomas J. McInnis (Conservative, Nova Scotia); Donald Neil Plett (conservative, Manitoba-Landmark); Rose-May Poirier (conservative, Saint-Louis-de-Kent); Nancy Greene Raine (conservative, British Columbia-Thompson-Okanagan-Kootenay); Pierrette Ringuette (independent, New Brunswick), and Charlie Watt (liberal, Quebec-Inkerman).
