2005 Ministers - Bountrogianni to Chambers

[John Dunn]

June 2005, Ontario Premier Daulton McGuinty did a cabinet shuffle consequently removing Bountrogianni and replacing her with Chambers.

Do you know anything about her? Lets discuss Chambers here.

[dangerzone]

Hi!!!

Here's the scoop on the new Minister of Children and Youth Services.

Mary Anne Chambers was elected the Member of Provincial Parliament for Scarborough East in October, 2003 and served as Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities before being appointed Minister of Children and Youth Services in June, 2005.

Prior to serving in public office, Mrs. Chambers held the position of senior vice-president at Scotiabank, retiring in 2002, after a 26-year career there. Her strong commitment to both fiscal and social responsibility has been evident in her various achievements, and she has received numerous awards for her community service.

Mrs. Chambers served on the board of the United Way of Greater Toronto for seven years and on the board of the United Way of Canada for almost six years. Mrs. Chambers is a past chair of the United Way of Canada. She is also a past president of the Canadian Club of Toronto.

Mrs. Chambers was a governor of the University of Toronto for nine years, and was vice-chair of the Governing Council for three years. While serving in that capacity, her work on a task force on student financial support contributed to a policy that guarantees no student will be unable to study at the University of Toronto due to inadequate financial resources.

Her unwavering commitment to improving access to higher education was demonstrated during her term as Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, when the McGuinty government announced the largest multi-year investment in postsecondary education in 40 years and the most substantial improvements to student assistance in almost 30 years. Also under her stewardship, new initiatives were introduced to enable new Canadians to more easily contribute their skills to Ontario’s prosperity, and a greater emphasis was put on the importance of careers in the skilled trades.

Mrs. Chambers’ commitment to children and youth has also been evident in her many years of service to support early childhood education and programs for youth.

She sponsors an aggression replacement training program and hosts an annual career fair for youth in Scarborough. Mrs. Chambers is a major benefactor of the paediatric program at the Rouge Valley Health System’s Scarborough and Ajax-Pickering hospitals, where she also served as vice-chair of the board. For several years, she served as a governor of the Air Cadet League of Canada, an organization that provides thousands of teenaged youth with personal, leadership and technical skills. Mrs. Chambers sponsors a basic school for young children and supports a home for severely disabled young people in Jamaica, the country of her birth.

Mrs. Chambers has been married to her husband Chris for 35 years. They have two sons and two granddaughters.

[John Dunn]

Thank you for your research. Also, if you wish to see what Chambers had to say during the Legislative Assembly of Ontario's Financial Estimates Committee review of the Ministry of Children and Youth Services check out the link on our home page at www.afterfostercare.ca