Justin Trudeau has officially taken over the Prime Minister role—as Stephen Harper resigned earlier today. Canadians gathered together at Rideau Hall to witness the swearing in of the new government.
There are 31 ministers part of Trudeau’s cabinet, with 3 of them from Metro Vancouver—Harjit Sajjan (Vancouver South), Jody Wilson-Raybould (Vancouver Granville) and Carla Qualtrough (Delta).
Jody Wilson-Raybould, the former regional chief of the B.C. Assembly of First Nations was named justice minister. Wilson-Raybould studied Law at UBC and worked as a Crown prosecutor in the early 2000s. After a few years, she accepted a position with the B.C. Treaty Commission and was later elected as a commissioner by the First Nations Summit. She was recognized by her work as a councillor and then elected regional chief of the B.C. Assembly of First Nations in 2009 and then re-elected in 2012.
Harjit Sajjan, a former detective with the Vancouver Police Department, who previously served with the Canadian military, was named minister of defence. As a Colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces, he has served in Bosnia and Afghanistan. Sajjan has received multiple military honours, including the Order of Military Merit, which was given to him by Governor General David Johnston last year. He also worked as a detective for the VPD’s Gang Crime Unit.
Carla Qualtrough, a former Paralympic swimmer was named minister of sport and persons with a disability. Qualtrough was born with a visual impairment and took part in the Paralympic Games, winning 3 medals in swimming. She has a strong background in the human rights sector, working as a lawyer who was also the vice-chair person of the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal of B.C. She is also the former president of the Canadian Paralympic Committee and was named one of Canada’s most influential women in sports on numerous occasions.
Written By: Meagan Gill
