Alberta journalist named to Senate
EDMONTON Longtime Edmonton Journal columnist Paula Simons was appointed to the Senate of Canada as an independent senator by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday.
Simons was one of three new senators appointed to the Red Chamber along with Indigenous rights advocate Patti Laboucane-Benson from Spruce Grove and Peter Boehm from Ontario.
“These three new independent senators bring a wealth of experience with them to the Red Chamber,” said Trudeau, in a news release. “Whether working as a community educator and researcher, a journalist, or an ambassador, all three have gained a deep appreciation and understanding of this country. I have full confidence that they will be excellent representatives for their regions and for all Canadians.”
Simons said she is thrilled and ready for the new challenge.
“I am both deeply honoured and extremely flabbergasted with the appointment,” she said. “I’ve spent my 17 years as a columnist analyzing and critiquing government policies and I hope to bring those same skills and that same objectivity to my work in the Senate. And I will go on being a passionate advocate for Edmonton and Alberta.”
Simons has been a powerful and important voice in Edmonton and in the province holding governments to account on countless issues, most notably on child welfare.
Part of the award-winning investigation by the Edmonton Journal into the deaths of hundreds of children under government care, Simons won a National Newspaper Award in May for her own tenacious reporting on the subject.
“Paula Simons is recognized as Edmonton’s conscience. While it sounds like a cliche to say, she has given voice to the voiceless and held the powerful accountable. There are few journalists who have done this as well as she has,” said Edmonton Journal editor-in-chief Mark Iype.
Laboucane-Benson is the director of research, training and communications at Native Counselling Services of Alberta, where she’s worked to support the rights of Indigenous people in the justice, corrections and children’s services systems.