FREDERICTON — Fredericton Member of Parliament Jenica Atwin has been appointed as chair of Canada’s standing committee on Indigenous and northern affairs.
Atwin made the announcement in a video posted to social media on Wednesday.
“I am super excited for the new challenge just to ensure that Inuit, Métis and Indigenous voices are represented,” she said in the video.
The standing committee on Indigenous and northern affairs reviews, examines and reports on issues that affect Indigenous, Inuit and Métis peoples as well as northerners, and focuses on using making government decisions through an Indigenous lens.
Indigenous activism runs in Atwin’s family, as her stepfather is Wolastoq Grand Chief Ron Tremblay. Her husband, Chris, previously served as a band councillor with the Oromocto First Nation.
“I’m just so grateful to our committee members and I’m grateful to Marc Garneau for having such big shoes for me to fill, but I think I’m up to the challenge,” said Atwin.
Garneau, a longtime Canadian politician and former astronaut, announced earlier this month he would leave politics after more than 14 years.
Atwin was elected as Fredericton’s MP in September 2019 as the first Green Party MP east of British Columbia at the time.
She crossed the floor to the Liberal party in June 2021 after inner party disagreements over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.