Ontario Senator Josée Forest-Niesing has died following a battle with COVID-19.
She was 56 years old.
Josée Forest-Niesing’s office said earlier this week that the Sudbury, Ontario senator returned home last Saturday after being admitted to hospital with the virus.
The statement said she was fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but was considered vulnerable due to an autoimmune disease that had affected her lungs for the past 15 years and reduced the vaccine’s effectiveness. .
Senate Speaker George J. Furey confirmed his death in a statement Saturday, in which he described Senator Forest-Niesing as “a staunch and passionate advocate for access to justice in both official languages.”
A lawyer by training, Josée Forest-Niesing is described on the Senate website as a proud Franco-Ontarian who had recently discovered her Métis heritage.
“In addition to practicing law for nearly 20 years in a firm dedicated to providing services in French, she has contributed to her community by chairing and sitting on numerous boards of directors, notably the Sudbury Art Gallery, the Carrefour francophone de Sudbury and the University of Sudbury, ”says one in his biography on the Canadian Senate website.
She has also been a member of numerous associations that promote access to legal services for all Francophones in Canada.
She represented Ontario in the Senate since October 2018.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau briefly paid tribute to the deceased, while expressing his condolences to family, friends and colleagues. He described Ms. Forestâ € ‘Niesing as “a dedicated public servant and a staunch defender of linguistic minority communities”.
“Throughout her life, Ms. Forest-Niesing has ardently defended access to justice and public services in both official languages as well as in sign language, particularly for Indigenous communities,” said Mr. Trudeau.