Minister Kenney Announces Appointments and Reappointments to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Jan 23, 2009 12:28 ET
OTTAWA, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Jan. 23, 2009) – The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, today announced 13 full-time appointments and three reappointments to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB).
Louis Cousineau was appointed for a three-year term in the Montral office. Coralie Buttigieg, Kevin Fainbloom, Robert Sinclair Garner, Robert Allan Markovits, Subadeh Mashkuri and Ingrid Edna Peters were appointed for three-year terms in the Toronto office. Preeti S. Adhopia, Maryanne Kingma, Bindu Narula, Darcy Marshall Tkachuk and Cheryl Walker were appointed for three-year terms in the Calgary office. Lucinda Jane Bruin was appointed for a three-year term in the Vancouver office.
Milton Israel and Trudy S. Shecter were reappointed for five-year terms and Thomas Pinkney was reappointed for a three-year term, all in the Toronto office. These appointments and reappointments were made in accordance with the IRB's merit-based appointment process.
This is one of the largest number of appointments on a single day and demonstrates the Minister's commitment to fill vacancies on the board with qualified individuals as quickly as possible. The number of vacancies has gone down from 48 to 32 to help reduce long wait times before the IRB, which adjudicates refugee claims.
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Cousineau held several positions with the IRB, the most recent providing adjudicative support to the Operations Branch. He also held the position of Refugee Protection Officer and he worked as an expert consultant with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Burundi. Mr. Cousineau received his Licentiate in Laws from the Universit de Montral and was called to the Barreau du Qubec in 1980.
Prior to her appointment to the Board, Ms. Buttigieg was Legal and International Relations Officer with the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit in Malta. She also held the positions of Legal Advisor, Assistant Refugee Commissioner and case worker with the Office of the Refugee Commissioner in Malta. Ms. Buttigieg received her Bachelor of Arts in Legal and Humanistic Studies, her Diploma of Notary Public and her Doctor of Laws from the University of Malta.
Prior to his appointment to the Board, Mr. Fainbloom held several positions with the IRB, the most recent being Tribunal Officer. He also held the positions of Refugee Protection Officer and Hearing Officer. Mr. Fainbloom received his Bachelor of Arts from McGill University and his Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie Law School.
Prior to his appointment to the Board, Mr. Garner was most recently Coordinating School Superintendent and previously School Superintendent, School Principal and Vice-Principal with the Toronto Board of Education/Toronto District School Board. Mr. Garner received his Bachelor of Arts from York University and his Master of Education from Niagara University.
Prior to his appointment to the Board, Mr. Markovits was a practitioner architect concentrating on small-scale construction. He also held the positions of Project Architect with Jeffrey Strasburg Architect and in-house Architectural Designer with O'Shanter Development Company Limited. Mr. Markovits received his Bachelor of Architecture from the New York Institute of Technology and his Master of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School.
Prior to her appointment to the Board, Ms. Mashkuri was most recently Counsel in the Equity Initiatives Department of the Law Society of Upper Canada. She has also been Senior Staff Lawyer with Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic as well as Barrister and Solicitor with the Department of Justice. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Manitoba, her Master of Arts from the University of Toronto and her Bachelor of Laws from the University of Ottawa. Ms. Mashkuri was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1996.
Prior to her appointment to the Board, Ms. Peters was Vice-President, Legal and Compliance, and General Counsel and Corporate Secretary with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. She has also been Director of the Legal Services Branch of the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Tourism, with the Ontario Ministry of Attorney General, and Counsel for Fraser and Beatty. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Brock University, her Bachelor of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School and her Master of Laws in International Business and Trade Law from the University of Toronto. Ms. Peters was called to the Ontario Bar in 1979.
Prior to her appointment to the Board, Ms. Adhopia was Portfolio Officer with the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. She had also held the positions of Public Complaints Director, Strategic Research Analyst and Tactical Crime Analyst with the Calgary Police Service. Ms. Adhopia received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from McGill University and her Master of Arts in Criminology from the University of Toronto.
Prior to her appointment to the Board, Ms. Kingma was Hearing Adjudicator, Correction Act, for the Solicitor General of Alberta. She also held the positions of Commissioner and Hearing Chair with the Appeals Commission for Workers' Compensation of Alberta. Ms. Kingma received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia, her Bachelor of Laws from the University of Victoria and her Master of Laws from Dalhousie University.
Prior to her appointment to the Board, Ms. Narula held several positions with the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society, the most recent being Coordinator of Special Projects. She also held the positions of Coordinator of Resettlement and Integration Services, Resettlement Assistant and Researcher. Ms. Narula received a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in Anthropology from Concordia University.
Prior to his appointment to the Board, Mr. Tkachuk was Junior Achievement Program Director with the Yukon Entrepreneurship Centre Society and Sessional Instructor at Yukon College. He also held the position of General Counsel with Northwestel Inc. and was Associate Lawyer with Pitzel & Company, Coffin Laluk and Wheatley Sadownik. He received his Bachelor of Arts and his Bachelor of Laws from the University of Alberta, and his Master of Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario. Mr. Tkachuk was called to the Bar of Alberta in 1992.
Prior to her appointment to the Board, Ms. Walker was most recently a member of the Labour Standards Appeal Board of the Northwest Territories. She has also been Manager, Policy and Legislation, with the Department of Health and Social Services of the Government of Northwest Territories. She received a Bachelor of Arts (Science) from the University of Western Ontario and her law degree from the University of Windsor. Ms. Walker was called to the Bar of Ontario and the Northwest Territories in 1981.
Prior to her appointment to the Board, Ms. Bruin was an English-as-a-Second-Language (ELS) Instructor with DIVERSEcity Community Resources Society. She has also been a private English tutor and an ESL teacher with Fraser Valley Christian High School. Ms. Bruin received a Bachelor of Arts, with a major in English, from Calvin College in Michigan.
Prior to his initial appointment on January 9, 2006, Mr. Israel held different positions with the University of Toronto, such as lecturer, assistant professor, associate professor and professor. He has held numerous administrative positions, including Director of the Graduate Centre for South Asian Studies. In addition, he has served as chairman of numerous cultural committees and boards, including President, Resident Director in India, and member of the Board of Directors of the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute. Mr. Israel received his Bachelor of Science from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and his Master of Arts and Doctorate Degree from the University of Michigan.
Prior to her appointment to the Board on December 12, 2005, Ms. Shecter, previous Board Member from 2001 to 2003, was a manager, consultant and volunteer with more than 25 years of experience in management and organization building. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto, her Master of Arts, Contemporary Jewish Studies, from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, and her Master of Business Administration from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts.
Prior to his initial appointment on December 3, 2001, Mr. Pinkney worked as an educator and an organization development consultant. After being a secondary school teacher and a department head, he served in administrative positions, including those of principal, superintendent of schools, and superintendent of Community, Administrative and Student Services with the North York Board of Education and, later, with the Toronto District School Board. Mr. Pinkney received his Bachelor of Arts in History and his Master of Education from the University of Toronto.
Created in 1989, the IRB is an independent administrative tribunal that reports to Parliament through the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. The Board has three divisions: the Refugee Protection Division, the Immigration Appeal Division and the Immigration Division. The IRB determines refugee protection claims made in Canada, hears immigration appeals, and conducts admissibility hearings and detention reviews.
For more information, please contact
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Minister's Office
Alykhan Velshi
Alykhan.Velshi@cic.gc.ca
or
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Communications Branch
Media Relations
613-952-1650
CIC-Media-Relations@cic.gc.ca
