Sheila Abbey Finestone, (January 28, 1927 – June 8, 2009) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

Early life

Born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

, the daughter of Minnie Cummings Abbey and

Monroe Abbey Monroe Abbey, (May 30, 1904 – November 28, 1993) was a Canadian lawyer specializing in mining law, and a Jewish civic leader in Montreal. He was president of Canadian Jewish Congress from 1968 to 1971. He was married to Minnie Cummings. H ...

. Her father was a president of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Finestone received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

in 1947. The same year, she married Alan Finestone (1923–1997). They had four sons: David (born 1950), Peter (born 1951), Maxwell (born 1954) and Stephen (born 1956).

Career

From 1977 to 1980, she was president of the Fédération des femmes du Québec. In 1984 she was elected as a Liberal

for the Montreal riding of

Mount Royal Mount Royal (french: link=no, Mont Royal, ) is a large intrusive rock hill or small mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The best-known hypothesis for the origin of the name Montreal is the hi ...

. She was re-elected in the 1988,

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

and 1997 elections. Finestone was sworn to the Privy Council in November 1993 as Secretary of State (Multiculturalism and Status of Women). Finestone was appointed 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 ...

in August 1999. She completed her term in the Senate in 2002 when she reached the mandatory retirement age of 75. She was a member of the board of the Canadian Landmine Foundation. In 2008, Finestone was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award of the

Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians The Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians (CAFP) is a non-profit organization, established by an Act of the Parliament of Canada, the membership of which is composed of former members of the Senate or House of Commons of Canada. History ...

, "presented annually to a former parliamentarian who has made an outstanding contribution to the country and its democratic institutions." The award was accepted on her behalf by her son Peter, due to Finestone's inability to attend, following health challenges.

Death

Finestone died of cancer on June 8, 2009 in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

References

External links

*
Jewish Women's Archive entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finestone, Sheila 1927 births 2009 deaths Anglophone Quebec people Canadian senators from Quebec Women members of the House of Commons of Canada Women members of the Senate of Canada Deaths from cancer in Ontario Jewish Canadian politicians Liberal Party of Canada MPs Liberal Party of Canada senators McGill University alumni Members of the 26th Canadian Ministry Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Politicians from Montreal Women in Quebec politics 21st-century Canadian women politicians 20th-century Canadian women politicians Women government ministers of Canada Jewish women politicians