Lawyer Manuelle Oudar appointed to Senate, filling Quebec vacancy

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday that lawyer Manuelle Oudar has been appointed to the Senate, filling a vacancy for Quebec.

A media release on the appointment says Oudar is a «respected leader whose career in Quebec's public service spans more than three decades.»

The release also says Oudar is president and CEO of the Quebec government's Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST), the body that administers the province's occupational health and safety legislation.

Oudar will join the Senate as an Independent. The release says that «there have been 81 independent appointments to the Senate on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.»

In 2016, the federal government appointed an independent advisory board of distinguished Canadians to help the prime minister make his Senate picks.