Yvonne Boyer (born October 25, 1953) is a Canadian lawyer who was named to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

on March 25, 2018, as a Senator for

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

. A

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

, Boyer is the first

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

person appointed to the Senate from Ontario. She lives in Merrickville, Ontario, near Ottawa. As a lawyer, Boyer has been outspoken in her criticisms of inequities in Canada's health care in its treatment of and availability to Indigenous peoples. Boyer is a member of the

Métis Nation of Ontario The Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) is an organization for people who self-identify as Métis in Ontario. It consists of representatives at the provincial and local levels. History of mixed Indigenous and European people in Ontario Mixed Indi ...

and has ancestral roots in the Métis Nation of

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

and Red River, Manitoba. As well as being a lawyer, at the time of her appointment to the Upper House she was a professor in the law faculty at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa ...

and associate director at the school's Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics. She is also a former member of the

Canadian Human Rights Commission The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) was established in 1977 by the government of Canada. It is empowered under the ''Canadian Human Rights Act'' to investigate and to try to settle complaints of discrimination in employment and in the pro ...

and has also served as in-house counsel for the

Native Women's Association of Canada The Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC; french: Association des femmes autochthones du Canada, nolink=yes FAC is a national Indigenous organization representing the political voice of Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people in ...

, and as a senior policy analyst and legal adviser at the

National Aboriginal Health Organization The National Aboriginal Health Organization (NAHO) (french: Organisation nationale de la santé autochtone (ONSA), link=no, iu, ᑲᓇᑕᒥ ᓄᓇᖃᖅᑳᖅᓯᒪᔪᓄᑦ ᐋᓐᓂᐊᕐᓇᖕᒋᓐᓂᓕᕆᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᑲᑐᔾᔨᕐᑲᑎ� ...

. Boyer's appointment to the Senate was recommended by the

Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments The Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments is an independent, non-partisan body established by Prime Minister of Canada, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to provide merit-based recommendations on nominations to the Senate of Canada ...

Activity

In May 2022 together with two other senators Senator Boyer issued a report calling for a review of the convictions of 12 indigenous women, including the Quewezance sisters, and their exoneration.

References

21st-century Canadian lawyers Living people Canadian women lawyers Canadian senators from Ontario Women members of the Senate of Canada Indigenous Canadian senators Independent Canadian senators Canadian Métis people Academic staff of the University of Ottawa 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Independent Senators Group 1953 births First Nations academics 21st-century women lawyers First Nations women in politics {{Ontario-politician-stub