Posted on 26 November 2008
Ottawa, November 26, 2008 – For the fourth time since she was appointed to the Senate in 1995, Acadian Liberal Senator Rose-Marie Losier-Cool (Tracadie-Sheila, NB) has been appointed as Deputy Speaker of the Senate of Canada. The unanimous vote that took place earlier this afternoon will see Senator Losier-Cool chair the sittings of the Upper Chamber of Canada’s Parliament in the absence of the Speaker of the Senate, the Honourable Noël Kinsella, also from New Brunswick.
“I am deeply touched by the trust my colleagues from both sides of the Senate continue to vest in me,” said Senator Losier-Cool after the vote. “I now have five years’ experience in this capacity, and it must have helped convince them I am well qualified. Furthermore, as a woman, I am elated to see that women parliamentarians in Canada can really get ahead!”
Senator Losier-Cool was appointed to the Senate by Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. Her first mandate as Deputy Speaker was from 1999 to 2002. During Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin’s mandate, she was Chief Government Whip in the Senate, the first woman in that capacity. With the advent of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s first Conservative government in April 2006, she undertook her second term as Deputy Speaker, and her third in October 2007.
In the summer of 2007, Senator Losier-Cool was also appointed as President of the Women Parliamentarians’ Network of la Francophonie. “My Network colleagues will be delighted to hear that I am still the Deputy Speaker,” she explained. “A great many women parliamentarians from across the world face a daily uphill battle just to gain the same recognition as their male counterparts. Those of us who manage to reach high office in our respective parliaments are a great source of inspiration for our national and international colleagues.
“The first thing I did after thanking my colleagues for their trust was to invite them all to attend the World Acadian Congress that will take place in August 2009,” added Senator Losier-Cool with a big smile. “The Congress is taking place in my constituency, in the Acadian Peninsula, and it is only normal that the local senator and the Deputy Speaker of the Senate should invite them all to come. And I really hope they all do!”
For interviews or further information: Lise Bouchard, (613) 947-8011