October is Women’s History Month, and to mark the occasion, the Women’s History Project is launching a new annual lecture series, which will feature former chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam in Ottawa on Oct. 30.

The series is named in honour of former Liberal cabinet minister Monique Bégin who died in 2023, aged 87. 

Debra Davis, president and co-founder of the Women’s History Project, told Heard on the Hill by email on Sept. 18 that her team was inspired by Bégin’s “extraordinary legacy” advocating for women and the health of all Canadians. She hopes this lecture series will “spark dialogue on the critical issues facing women in Canada—past, present, and future.”

Bégin served as then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau’s health and welfare minister from 1980 to 1984, during which time she introduced the Canada Health Act, the legislation that continues to shape the country’s health system today. 

The theme of this year’s Women’s History Month is “Women and Social Determinants of Health,” which “reflects a cause deeply tied to Monique’s life’s work,” said Davis.

“While health is shaped by many economic, social, and political factors, gender remains a driver of inequality—something Monique recognized and challenged throughout her career,” Davis explained. “This lecture honours her vision by fostering dialogue that continues her fight for a fairer, healthier Canada.”

So it’s no surprise that Canada’s erstwhile chief public health officer will be delivering the first Bégin lecture.

Tam recently wrapped up her tenure as head of the Canadian Public Health Agency, a role she’d held since 2017. She led the agency during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the SARS, H1N1, Ebola, and MERS outbreaks. Throughout her career, she’s championed evidence-based decision-making, strengthened Canada’s emergency preparedness and response, and advanced health equity. 

“Her leadership has left a lasting impact on public health in Canada and globally,” said Davis.

The Monique Bégin lecture is scheduled to take place on Oct. 30 at the University of Ottawa’s Lees Campus.

Bob Rae welcomes his predecessor and successor to UN in New York

Two days after it was announced that former Liberal cabinet minister David Lametti would be Canada’s next ambassador to the United Nations, the current envoy posted a photo with his successor and predecessor—both of whom have worked together in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office.

“Welcomed the Prime Minister, my predecessor, and my successor at the Canadian Mission today before our very successful meeting with [UN Secretary General António] Guterres this afternoon,” posted outgoing UN ambassador Bob Rae on X on Sept. 21 with a photo of himself, Marc-André Blanchard, and Lametti.

Other photos in the series show Carney and Tom Clark, Canada’s consul general to New York, with the trio. 

Currently Carney’s chief of staff, Blanchard served as Canada’s ambassador to the UN from 2016 to 2020.

Lametti joined the PMO this past July as Carney’s principal secretary. Prior to that, he’d been a Liberal MP from 2015 to 2023, and was then-prime minister Justin Trudeau’s justice minister from January 2019 until July 2023.

In addition to Lametti’s appointment, Carney announced last week that career diplomat Vera Alexander will be this country’s next ambassador to Germany, a role which has been vacant since then-ambassador and former British Columbia premier John Horgan died on Nov. 12, 2024.

Avi Lewis launches NDP leadership bid

Avi Lewis has officially entered the race to become the next leader of the New Democratic Party, announcing his candidacy on Sept. 19.

“I’m running for NDP leader so we can transform a system rigged for the rich—together. We need a government that serves the many, not the money,” the 58-year-old journalist and activist said in his campaign launch video on social media last week.

Dressed in a short-sleeved blue linen shirt, Lewis speaks directly to the camera in a Rick Mercer-style rant, listing the current inequalities and issues plaguing Canadians, spliced with news footage of current events as well as archival content of a younger Lewis interviewing a medley of Canadian politicians, including former prime minister Jean Chrétien, former Conservative cabinet minister and ex-Alberta premier Jason Kenney, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

He also flexes his family’s roots with the federal left-wing party: “In the 1970s, my grandfather, David Lewis, one of the founders of the NDP, said it well: ‘The government and big business both hold hands in your pocket.’ His generation refused to accept a rotten deal,” explained Avi. 

“That’s the tradition of struggle I was raised in … now I want to stand with you and anyone who believes that the job of government is to goddamn govern.”

Unlike his grandfather and father Stephen Lewis—who led the Ontario NDP for most of the 1970s—the younger Lewis has yet to hold public office, despite having run twice in British Columbia ridings in two federal elections, most recently placing third to incumbent Liberal MP Hedy Fry in her long-held riding of Vancouver Centre.

Lewis joins a fledgling group of declared leadership candidates that includes Alberta NDP MP Heather McPherson and Rob Ashton, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, who are officially listed as candidates on the Elections Canada website. As of Sept. 22, Lewis’ name was not yet on that list.

Privacy chief Dufresne elected chair of Global Privacy Assembly

Canada’s privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne was elected to chair the Global Privacy Assembly during the 47^th Global Privacy Assembly conference in Seoul, South Korea, last week.

The Global Privacy Assembly is an international forum of more than 130 data protection and privacy authorities and observers from around the world, providing global leadership in data protection and privacy.

“This is a pivotal moment for privacy in Canada and around the world,” said Dufresne in a Sept. 19 press release announcing his two-year chairmanship. “I look forward to working with all the members of the Global Privacy Assembly. By prioritizing collaboration and leveraging our combined capabilities, resources, and expertise, we can maximize our collective efforts to shape a future where innovation can flourish, privacy rights are respected, and trust is reinforced.”

Natan Obed re-elected as ITK president

Natan Obed was re-elected for a fourth term as Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami’s president last week. 

Thirteen representatives of the groups that make up the ITK’s board voted during its annual general meeting in Cambridge Bay, Nvt., on Sept. 18. Obed faced one opponent: former CBC North managing editor Kevin Kablutsiak, according to Nunatsiaq News.

Obed was first elected in 2015, re-elected in 2018, and was acclaimed in 2021. While he’d initially said in 2021 that he wouldn’t run again, the politician from Nain, Nunatsiavut, changed his mind back in July, saying then “I wish to continue in my role during these turbulent times.”

cleadlay@hilltimes.com

The Hill Times