Mayor Bevilacqua To Present Jean Augustine With Key To The City During Online Event

Publicnow.com
Oct. 19, 2020

The community is invited to join the City of Vaughan on Sunday, Oct. 25 to celebrate the Hon. Jean Augustine’s lifelong commitment to public service. An online event at 2 p.m. will include the official presentation of the Key to the City to Ms. Augustine as well as commemorate the naming of the Jean Augustine Complex and the Jean Augustine District Park. Tune in at vaughan.ca/live.

Ms. Augustine is a passionate educator, lifelong public servant and a national trailblazer. She is Canada’s first female African Canadian Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister.

During a Council meeting on June 29, 2020, Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua announced that Ms. Augustine would be receiving the Key to the City and that the City will name the Jean Augustine Complex and Jean Augustine District Park in her honour.

Born in Grenada, Ms. Augustine immigrated to Canada in 1960. She earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in education from the University of Toronto. In 1993, Ms. Augustine was elected Member of Parliament for the constituency of Etobicoke-Lakeshore, serving four terms until 2006. In 2002, Ms. Augustine was appointed Secretary of State (Multiculturalism and Status of Women), and, in 2003, she became Minister of State (Multiculturalism and Status of Women), later serving as assistant deputy speaker of Parliament until her retirement in 2006.

In 2007, Ms. Augustine was nominated by the Government of Ontario to become the first Fairness Commissioner, a position created to advocate for Canadians with foreign professional credentials. She retired from the position in March 2015. In 2008, the Jean Augustine Chair in Education was established in the Faculty of Education at York University. Ms. Augustine also served as the National President of the Congress of Black Women of Canada. She has received multiple awards and recognitions for her work. Of note, Ms. Augustine is a Member of the Order of Canada and a recipient of multiple honorary doctorates. In 2014, Ms. Augustine was the keynote speaker at the City of Vaughan’s International Women’s Day event, and, in 2019, met with her former seatmate in the House of Commons, Mayor Bevilacqua, to discuss issues of diversity, inclusion and multiculturalism.

The Key to the City honour is reserved for distinguished individuals as a recognition for their contribution in areas of human endeavours, including business, sports, arts and culture, public service, education and human rights.