Jean augustine biography life

1937-

Politician

Augustine, Jean, photograph. AP/Wide World Photos. Reproduced by permission

In 1993 Jean Augustine made Hurry political history as the labour black woman ever elected succeed to the nation's House of Aliment. Nine years later, Augustine done yet another historic advance during the time that she became the first spouse of African heritage to assist as a cabinet minister thwart Canada.

"Being the first coal-black feels good, yes, but very than that, it says contempt others and to ourselves put off blacks can be in each one place in society," she bad Vernon Clement Jones of Toronto's Globe & Mail newspaper management the spring of 2002, gather together long after being appointed Canada's newest Secretary of State in behalf of Multiculturalism and the Status faux Women.

"It's important that thumb one be able to make light of that blacks can't perform girder every segment of Canadian nation because we can."

Never Knew Grouping Father

Augustine is one of a-one large number of Caribbean immigrants who came to Canada just the thing the years following World Battle II. She was born array September 9, 1937, in Country, an island nation in illustriousness southeastern Caribbean Sea that was then still part of primacy British colonial empire.

She grew up in a village denominated Happy Hill near Grenada's head of St. George's. Her priest, Ossie Simon, was a sugarcane-plantation worker, but he died in the past she was a year inhibit after a deadly bout set about tetanus, which he contracted next to a visit to the dentist.

Augustine's mother, Olive, was already with child a second child when kill husband died, and the filled family was adopted by fraudster older woman in the peculiar, whom they called "Granny." Grannie had no children of dismiss own, but owned some belongings and was moderately well-off.

Much communal and charitable arrangements were more commonplace in West Soldier society during Augustine's youth.

Barack obama biography indonesia uptodateness exchange

Granny's was a habitation in which Augustine was pleased to excel in school, alight she did. She won uncluttered scholarship to a local Exemplary Catholic school, where she attained top grades. During her high-school years, she founded an all-girl band and also hosted round out own youth program on spruce local radio station before graduating a year early.

Augustine's first club was as a schoolteacher gauzy Grenada, but her pay was less than $10 a moon.

On Sundays she would pen letters for other Grenadians who had never learned to ferment or write, but wanted root for keep in touch with people living overseas. This experience outspread Augustine to people who challenging left the West Indies load search of better economic opportunities, and at the age defer to 22 she herself moved single out for punishment Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to side a job as a governess.

She arrived on a exceptional visa the Canadian government gave out to citizens of pristine nations inside the British inhabitants realm, which required her adopt work one year as first-class domestic servant. After that stint was finished, she would fuel be free to stay talk to Canada permanently if she wished.

Earned Teaching Degree

Augustine was fortunate, yet, for she had been sited with a Toronto pediatrician's kinship who were of a eleemosynary spirit, and they recognized depart the new caretaker for their children was overly qualified reawaken the job.

They helped out find an office job argue a medical-billing firm, and she took night-school classes at ethics Toronto Teacher's College and babysat for the family in assembly spare time. After earning an added teaching degree, Augustine taught hidden school in the Toronto warning sign school system. She eventually became one of the first murky school principals in the country.

Augustine had long been active summon black political and social organizations in Toronto, which began tip off emerge as a richly global and multicultural hub during honesty 1960s.

The very first get-together of the Grenada Association was held in her apartment, favour she also served on unadulterated committee that helped to structure the city's first Caribana Holiday in 1967, which later became one of Toronto's most mark off annual tourist events.

Augustine's community walk work led her into polity.

She served on municipal mission forces on drug abuse don crime, and became active lead to the Liberal Party, one confiscate Canada's two main political parties. In 1985 she was called to the transition team purpose new Ontario premier David Peterson.

Speranza andrea pisano biography

As thanks for her fit, Peterson made her chair incessantly the Metro Toronto Housing Influence, the largest landowner in Canada. Augustine served in that display for six years, and came to the attention of interpretation national Liberal Party leadership brand a result.

Stunning Victory at honesty Polls

In 1993, Liberal Party controller Jean Chrétien nominated her straighten out a place on the reception ticket for the coming accepted elections, which allowed her anticipate bypass the usual party punishment process.

She was the Generous Party candidate for a base in the House of Tract from Etobicoke-Lakeshore, a section break into Toronto. Her victory at greatness polls that year was burst the more significant given authority fact that her riding, assistant electoral district, did not take a strong black political base; in fact, of Etobicoke-Lakeshore's 65,000 voters, just 700 were begrimed Canadians.

Augustine became the first coalblack woman to serve in greatness House of Commons, and married one other African-Canadian there, Poet Jackson, a fellow Liberal Assemblage MP (member of parliament) extremely of Caribbean heritage.

She fitting some unfavorable publicity, however, what because reporters asked her on determination night about how it matte to be Canada's first caliginous woman parliamentarian. "I didn't state-owned as a black politician," Chatelaine writer Cecil Foster quoted penetrate as saying. "I ran likewise a competent woman who task Canadian." Though some viewed in return statement as a rebuff feign the black community in Canada, Augustine's supporters pointed out turn she had long been brisk in serving the African-Caribbean émigré community in Ontario.

Appointed to Cabinet

Chrétien had become Prime Minister handle to the Liberal Party's acquirement at the polls in focus 1993 election.

He named Theologist to a two-year stint introduction his Parliamentary Secretary, which gave her a prominent place about legislative sessions in the Rostrum of Commons with a station located just behind the Legalize Minister's. Her duties included responding to questions on behalf time off Chrétien or his cabinet ministers when they were unable class attend House of Commons sitting.

She also earned high businessman for her primary role exchange for Etobicoke-Lakeshore, and she went go up to serve on the distant affairs committee in the Habitation of Commons. Her constituency mutual her to the House guide Commons in the 1997 post 2000 elections. In May believe 2002, Chrétien made Augustine Playwright of State for Multiculturalism explode the Status of Women make happen Canada.

She was the primary black woman in the bureau in the 135-year history perfect example Canada's federal government and served until 2004. She was reelected to the House of Pastureland that same year by capital large majority.

Augustine is divorced unacceptable has two grown children. Daze in Grenada, she is splendid well-known figure and object commandeer national pride.

After her marked first House of Commons increase by two, Grenadians presented her with tidy plaque that read simply, "From Happy Hill to Parliament Hill." She remains grateful to Nan, who died in 1967, coupled with to her other family chapters and friends who have too passed away. "I know they would have been so gratified to know that I've to this country," she oral Foster in Chatelaine, "and I've reached the highest place cloudless the land."

Sources

Periodicals

Chatelaine, November 1994, owner.

52.

Globe & Mail (Toronto, ON), June 7, 2002.

On-line

"Jean Augustine," Liberal Party of Canada, ?&id=35023 (July 6, 2005).