Two Jewish women were among the list of nine new senators appointed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to the upper house last week: Montrealer Judith Seidman and Torontonian Linda Frum-Sokolowski.
Judith Seidman and Linda Frum-Sokolowski
The appointment of Seidman, a Conservative party activist, came as a surprise to the organized Jewish community. Little-known outside the party and her professional engagements, Seidman was one of three Quebecers appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper last week.
The others included former Montreal Canadiens coach Jacques Demers and lawyer Claude Carignan.
Seidman has been a Tory organizer for more than a decade, as well as a vice-president for Quebec on its national council for several years.
Seidman, trained as an epidemiologist and social worker, chaired Harper’s campaign for the leadership of the new Conservative party in 2003, and she played a key role in organizing a major fundraiser for the party in Montreal earlier this year.
Robert Presser, who is active in the Conservative party and Quebec Jewish Congress, said he has known Seidman for about 12 years.
“She’s a very open and willing person. I think she will be a very accessible to the Jewish community, and I really mean that,” he said.
“I think the community will be pleasantly surprised over the long run.”
He described her as an outstanding organizer and strategist with the energy and intellectual gifts to make a major contribution to the country.
Seidman, a grandmother, has been an educator, researcher and adviser to universities, government and non-profit agencies in the fields of health and social services. She was a senior researcher at the University Institute of Social Gerontology of Quebec and at the Montreal Neurological Institute’s social work department.
Frum-Sokolowski is a noted Canadian journalist and author. A past contributor to Maclean’s magazine and columnist for the National Post, she’s also a current board member of Upper Canada College, the Bishop Strachan School, the Canadian Club and Canada’s Walk of Fame, as well as a past board member of the Ontario Arts Council, Soulpepper Theatre, the Art Gallery of Ontario Foundation and the Canada-Israel Committee.
She was also the 2006 chair of the United Jewish Appeal’s annual Women’s Campaign.
Her husband, businessman Howard Sokolowski, is co-owner of the Toronto Argonauts.
Frum was one of two Ontarians appointed, the other being industrialist Doug Finley, who was the Conservative party’s national campaign director in the 2006 and 2008 elections.
Writing on his political group blog, NewMajority.com last week, Frum’s brother, David, said he was “proud and thrilled” for his sister, calling her a “woman of unique grace, talent and accomplishment.”
Ted Sokolsky, president and CEO of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, hailed Frum’s appointment.
“We offer our heartfelt mazal tov to Linda, one of our community’s most devoted volunteers and a generous, genuine community leader on her appointment to the Senate,” he said.
“Without a doubt, Canadians will be well served by her keen intelligence, her sense of civic responsibility, her commitment to community and Jewish values and her deep understanding of the international landscape.”
The other senators appointed last week were Nova Scotian Kevin Ogilvie, a biochemist; Dennis Patterson of Nunavut, former premier of the Northwest Territories; Manitoban Don Plett, former president of the Conservative Party, and New Brunswick native Carolyn Stewart, who until recently served as senior adviser and director of strategic communication in the prime minister’s office.
