Ruby Sahota becomes Deputy Government Whip; Ontario MPs Maninder Sidhu, Anandasangaree, Naqvi and Virani are parliamentary secretaries (updated)

PRIME Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced that Ruby Sahota will be Deputy Government Whip in the House of Commons.

Also, South Asians Maninder Sidhu, Gary Anandasangaree Yasir Naqvi and Arif Virani were appointed parliamentary secretaries.

 

RUBY Sahota, who will be Deputy Government Whip, was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Brampton North in 2015.

She was born in Toronto and raised in Brampton. She served as a member of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, and as a member of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. She was also an active member of the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women, and played a key role in the House Subcommittee on the Code of Conduct for Members of the House of Commons for Sexual Harassment.

An experienced attorney, Ruby has practiced in the areas of criminal law, litigation, and dispute resolution in the public and private sectors, handling a wide range of complex commercial litigation files at the national and international level. She has also served with the Organization for Women in International Trade, UNICEF, and Amnesty International.

Sahota holds a Combined Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Peace Studies from McMaster University as well as a Juris Doctor in Litigation from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School at Western Michigan University, where she was awarded the Blue Book Award in Immigration Law.

 

Maninder Sidhu

MANINDER Sidhu, Brampton East MP, will be Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Sidhu was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Brampton East in 2019.

He previously served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development.

He has been a member of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, and the Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. He has also been a member of various other committees, parliamentary associations, and interparliamentary groups, including the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association, the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association, and the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas.

After graduating from the University of Waterloo, Sidhu built a successful customs brokerage business. He is the founder of The Kindness Movement, which supports economically disadvantaged students in Canada and India. He also mentors aspiring young entrepreneurs in his community.

Sidhu lives with his wife and children in Brampton, which he has called home for the past 30 years.

Gary Anandasangaree

GARY Anandasangaree becomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.

Anandasangaree was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Scarborough—Rouge Park in 2015.

He has previously served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism (Multiculturalism).

Anandasangaree is an internationally recognized human rights lawyer and community activist who has advocated tirelessly for education and justice.

He has served as Chair of the Canadian Tamil Youth Development Centre, President of the Canadian Tamils’ Chamber of Commerce, and counsel to the Canadian Tamil Congress. He was also legal counsel to the Independent Mortgage Brokers and Agents, a board member of the Youth Challenge Fund, a member of the Toronto Police Chief’s Advisory Board, and a member of the United Way Newcomers Grant Program.

Anandasangaree attended Osgoode Hall Law School. He was called to the bar in 2006 and later managed his own firm in Scarborough. He has been a passionate advocate for human rights issues, regularly representing Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada at the United Nations. He has also served as a strong advocate for local youth, intervening in cases of wrongful student expulsion and suspension.

In honour of his devotion to community service and local advocacy, Anandasangaree has received both the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal and Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. He also received the Osgoode Hall Law School “One to Watch” Gold Key Award and the South Asian Bar Association’s Young Practitioner Award.

He is married to Harini Sivalingam and they have two daughters, Bairavi and Sahanah.

Yasir Naqvi

YASIR Naqvi becomes Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness.

Naqvi was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre in 2021.

He immigrated to Canada from Pakistan with his family in 1988, and grew up learning the values of democracy, social justice, and compassion.

A strong community leader who believes in the importance of giving back, Naqvi served as a Member of Provincial Parliament in Ontario for close to 11 years. During this time, he held the roles of Attorney General of Ontario, Government House Leader, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, and Minister of Labour. As a member of the Ontario legislature, he helped raise the minimum wage, ban race-based carding, and modernize the provincial court system. He was also an advocate for public services and sustainable community growth.

Naqvi served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship from 2019 to 2021. He has also practised international trade and administrative law with major law firms. He has sat on the boards of many community organizations, including OrKidstra, United Way East Ontario, and the Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership.

Naqvi holds a Bachelor of Science in Life Sciences and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, both from McMaster University, as well as a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Ottawa and a Master of Arts in International Affairs from Carleton University. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 2001 and called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2002.

Naqvi has two children, Rafi and Elliana.

Arif Virani

ARIF Virani becomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development.

Virani was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Parkdale—High Park in 2015.

He previously served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and to the Minister of Democratic Institutions, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage (Multiculturalism), and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.

Virani came to Canada as a Ugandan Asian refugee. Before entering politics, he worked as a constitutional litigator, advocating for human rights and access to justice.

He was an analyst with the Canadian Human Rights Commission in Ottawa, an investigator at the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse in Montréal, and an assistant trial attorney prosecuting those accused of genocide at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

Virani was also one of the founders of the South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario in Toronto. He received the 2001 Harold G. Fox litigation scholarship at the Middle Temple in London, United Kingdom, and the 2008 Wilson-Prichard Award in recognition of his contributions to the legal profession and his community.

Virani lives and volunteers in his community. He is a member of The Redwood, a shelter for abused women and their children, and regularly helps at the Parkdale Community Food Bank. He is also an active volunteer with RoncyWorks, and has led community efforts to address mental health stigma.

Virani has an Honours Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from McGill University, and completed his Bachelor of Laws at the University of Toronto, where he graduated as valedictorian.

He speaks English, French, and Hindi. He is happily married and the devoted father of two young boys.

 

For the full list of parliamentary secretaries and other appointments announced on Friday, visit our website voiceonline.com.