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Membership of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI)

44th Parliament, 1st Session (November 2021 - Present)

Chair

  • Pat Kelly

Vice-Chairs

  • Iqra Khalid
  • René Villemure

Members

  • Parm Bains
  • James Bezan
  • Greg Fergus
  • Matthew Green
  • Lisa Hepfner
  • Damien Kurek
  • Ryan Williams
  • Ya’ara Saks

Committee staff

  • Nancy Vohl, Clerk of the Committee
    (613-992-1240)
  • Janie St-Georges, Committee Assistant

From the Parliamentary Information and Research Service, Library of Parliament

  • Alexandra Savoie, Analyst
    Library of Parliament
  • Sabrina Charland, Analyst
    Library of Parliament

Demographic

Pat Kelly CON AB First elected 2015 Chair, Member
Iqra Khalid LIB ON First elected 2015 Vice-Chair, New Member
René Villemure BLOC QC First elected 2021 Vice-Chair, New Member
Parm Bains LIB BC First elected 2021 New Member of ETHI
James Bezan CON MB First elected 2004 New Member of ETHI
Hon. Greg Fergus LIB QC First elected 2015 Member
Matthew Green NDP ON First elected 2019 New Member of ETHI
Lisa Hepfner LIB ON First elected 2021 New Member of ETHI
Damien Kurek CON AB First elected 2019 Member
Ryan Williams CON ON First elected 2021 New Member of ETHI
Ya’ara Saks LIB ON First elected 2020 New Member of ETHI
  • 5 Liberals, 4 Conservatives, 1 New Democrat, 1 Bloquiste, and 0 Green.
  • 5 from Ontario, 2 from Quebec, 2 from Alberta, 1 from British Columbia, and 1 from Manitoba.
  • 8 MPs are new members of ETHI.
  • There are 3 returning members of ETHI from the previous session.
  • 4 of the MPs were elected this past election.
Pat Kelly

Pat Kelly

Conservative

Elected (2015, 2019, 2021)

Calgary Rocky Ridge (AB)

Preferred language: Engish

CURRENT ROLES IN THE 44th PARLIAMENT:

  • Chair of ETHI; and
  • Member of the Liaison Committee.

PRIOR TO ELECTION:

  • Before his election in 2015, Mr. Kelly was a mortgage broker in Calgary. He has graduated from the University of Calgary with a degree in Political Science.

AREAS OF INTEREST CONCERNING THE OPC:

  • Member of ETHI (42-1).
Iqra Khalid

Iqra Khalid

Liberal

Elected (2015, 2019, 2021)

Mississauga—Erin Mills (ON)

Preferred language: Engish/French

CURRENT ROLES IN THE 44th PARLIAMENT:

  • Vice-Chair of ETHI; and
  • Member of the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations.

PRIOR TO ELECTION:

  • Before her election in 2015, she worked as a legal professional. She has a degree in criminology and professional writing from York University as well as a Juris Doctor degree from WMU-Cooley.
  • Ms. Khalid was born in Punjab and immigrated in Canada in 1998.

AREAS OF INTEREST CONCERNING THE OPC:

  • Member of JUST (42-1); and
  • Chair of JUST (43-1, 43-2).
René Villemure

René Villemure

Bloc Québécois

Elected (2021)

Trois-Rivières (QC)

Preferred language: French

CURRENT ROLES IN THE 44th PARLIAMENT:

  • Vice-Chair of ETHI; and
  • Critic for Access to Information, Protection of Personal Information, and Ethics; and for Francophonie Internationale.

PRIOR TO ELECTION:

  • Mr. Villemure is a well-known Ethician in Quebec, often appearing on Quebec news channels in the past for matters related to Ethics.
  • He has a PhD in philosophy from the Université de Sherbrooke.

AREAS OF INTEREST CONCERNING THE OPC:

  • N/A
Parm Bains

Parm Bains

Liberal

Elected (2021)

Steveston—Richmond East (BC)

Preferred language: Engish

CURRENT ROLES IN THE 44th PARLIAMENT:

  • Member of ETHI; and
  • Member of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates.

PRIOR TO ELECTION:

  • Prior to his election, Mr. Bains was an instructor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. He also worked as a media and public relations officer with the British Columbia provincial government.
  • He has attended the British Columbia Institute of Technology as well as the Royal Roads University, where he obtained a Masters of Arts in Business and Corporate Communications.

AREAS OF INTEREST CONCERNING THE OPC:

  • N/A
James Bezan

James Bezan

Conservative

Elected (2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2021)

Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman (MB)

Preferred language: Engish

CURRENT ROLES IN THE 44th PARLIAMENT:

  • Member of ETHI; and
  • Critic for Ethics.

PRIOR TO ELECTION:

  • Mr. Bezan majored in livestock technology in Olds College's Agricultural Production program.
  • He worked in the livestock and cattle industries in the 1980s and 1990s, and started his own company in 1996. He served as Chief Executive Officer of the Manitoba Cattle Producer's Association, and has sat on boards in the fields of cattle and food production.

AREAS OF INTEREST CONCERNING THE OPC:

  • Bill C-21, An Act to amend the Customs Act (2018): This is part of the beyond the border action plan, and I appreciate that Daniel Therrien, the Privacy Commissioner, brought forward the amendment that was accepted in the Senate and that we are accepting here. It would ensure that any data that is collected on individuals is only retained for 15 years as part of the public record. It is important that we address that need.Footnote 1

Greg Fergus

Hon. Greg Fergus

Liberal

Elected (2015, 2019, 2021)

Hull – Aylmer (QC)

Preferred language: French/English

CURRENT ROLES IN THE 44th PARLIAMENT:

  • Member of ETHI;
  • Member of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs; and
  • Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, and to the President of the Treasury Board.

PRIOR TO ELECTION:

  • Mr. Fergus attended Selwyn House School, and later earned two bachelor's degrees from the University of Ottawa (Political Science) and Carleton University (International Relations).
  • He was president of the Young Liberals of Canada from 1994 to 1996.
  • Mr. Fergus worked for Liberal cabinet ministers Pierre Pettigrew and Jim Peterson.
  • In 2007, Stéphane Dion named him the national director of the Liberal Party.

AREAS OF INTEREST CONCERNING THE OPC:

  • Mr. Fergus has commented on the collection of personal information for business activities;
  • Former Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (2015-17);
  • Member of ETHI (43-1); and
  • Member of FINA (43-1).
Matthew Green

Matthew Green

New Democrat

Elected (2019, 2021)

Hamilton Centre (ON)

Preferred language: Engish

CURRENT ROLES IN THE 44th PARLIAMENT:

  • Member of ETHI; and
  • Critic for Ethics and for Treasury Board, Deputy Critic for Employment and Workforce Development; for Labour; and for Public Services and Procurement.

PRIOR TO ELECTION:

  • Before his election in 2019, he was the first Black Canadian to serve on the Hamilton City Council, from 2014 to 2018. He also worked as an Executive Director for the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion.
  • Mr. Green has a degree in Political Science from Acadia University. He also attended McMaster University.

AREAS OF INTEREST CONCERNING THE OPC:

  • Associate member of ETHI in 43-1.
Lisa Hepfner

Lisa Hepfner

Liberal

Elected (2021)

Hamilton Mountain (ON)

Preferred language: Engish

CURRENT ROLES IN THE 44th PARLIAMENT:

  • Member of ETHI; and
  • Member of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.

PRIOR TO ELECTION:

  • Prior to her election in 2021, she was a television news journalist for CHCH News.
  • Ms. Hepfner has a Bachelor of Journalism from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelor of Arts (political science and government) from the University of Calgary and a Master’s degree from McMaster University (communications management).

AREAS OF INTEREST CONCERNING THE OPC:

  • N/A
Damien Kurek

Damien Kurek

Conservative

Elected (2019, 2021)

Battle River—Crowfoot (AB)

Preferred language: Engish

CURRENT ROLES IN THE 44th PARLIAMENT:

  • Member of ETHI; and
  • Deputy Critic for Rural Economic Development and Rural Broadband Strategy.

PRIOR TO ELECTION:

  • Before his election, Mr. Kurek worked as a farmer and in the oil and gas sector.
  • He has a degree in Political Science from the Trinity University and a diploma in biblical studies.

AREAS OF INTEREST CONCERNING THE OPC:

  • Member of ETHI (43-1).
Ryan Williams

Ryan Williams

Conservative

Elected (2021)

Bay of Quinte (ON)

Preferred language: Engish

CURRENT ROLES IN THE 44th PARLIAMENT:

  • Member of ETHI;
  • Member of Science and Research (SRSR);
  • Member of Health (HESA); and
  • Deputy Critic for Innovation, Science and Industry.

PRIOR TO ELECTION:

  • Mr. Williams was the President of Williams Hotels.
  • Prior to being elected to the House of Commons, he sat on Belleville City Council.

AREAS OF INTEREST CONCERNING THE OPC:

  • N/A
Ya'ara Saks

Ya’ara Saks

Liberal

Elected (2020, 2021)

York Centre (ON)

Preferred language: Engish

CURRENT ROLES IN THE 44th PARLIAMENT:

  • Member of ETHI; and
  • Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.

PRIOR TO ELECTION:

  • Before her election in 2020, Ms. Saks was a Principal Consultant at YLS Consulting as well as a blog writer. She also served as Director for the Trauma Practice for Healthy Communities.
  • She has a degree in Middle East Studies and Political Science from McGill University and a Master’s degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from The Hebrew University.

AREAS OF INTEREST CONCERNING THE OPC:

  • N/A
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