Senator Judy A. White

Senator White is a Mi’kmaq, a member of the Flat Bay Band, and a King’s Counsel lawyer with significant experience in human rights issues, Indigenous governance, and legislative matters. She is the first Indigenous Senator from Newfoundland and Labrador (sworn into the Senate of Canada, Sept 2023) and is currently the Deputy Leader of the Progressive Senate Group.

Ms. White was previously the Assistant Deputy Minister of Indigenous Affairs and Reconciliation in the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and, through an interchange arrangement, served as Director of Engagement for Distinctions-based Legislation with the Government of Canada.

She has worked on numerous boards and in governance, serving many agencies in various capacities, including as the former Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Newfoundland and Labrador, Chair of the Inuvialuit Arbitration Board, and Co-Chair (Indigenous) of Equal Voice’s Newfoundland and Labrador chapter.

In 2022, Ms. White received the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the advancement of gender equality. She is also the 2023 recipient of the prestigious Gordon M. Stirling Distinguished Service Award from the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Ms. White holds a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University with a particular emphasis on Indigenous law. She also completed the Intensive Program in Indigenous Lands, Resources, and Governments at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School, the Leading People and Investing to Build Sustainable Communities Program – an Indigenous certificate program – at Harvard Business School, and the Chartered Director Program at McMaster University.

Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard

Dr. Wanda Thomas Bernard is a highly regarded social worker, educator, researcher, community activist and advocate of social change. She has worked in mental health at the provincial level, in rural community practice at the municipal level, and, since 1990, as a professor at the Dalhousie School of Social Work, where she also served as director for a decade.

In 2016, she was appointed Special Advisor on Diversity and Inclusiveness at Dalhousie University and she is the first African Nova Scotian to hold a tenure track position at Dalhousie University and to be promoted to full professor. Dr. Thomas Bernard has worked with provincial organizations to bring diversity to the political processes in Nova Scotia and teach community members about Canada’s legislative process and citizen engagement. She is a founding member of the Association of Black Social Workers (ABSW) which helps address the needs of marginalized citizens, especially those of African descent.

As a former member of the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women, and as its past Chair, was instrumental in the development of advice to ministers regarding frameworks for gender violence prevention and health equity. At the national level, she has served as a member of the National Coalition of Advisory Councils on the Status of Women. She has served as an expert witness in human rights cases and has presented at many local, national and international forums. Dr. Thomas Bernard has received many honours for her work and community leadership, notably the Order of Nova Scotia and the Order of Canada.