The Honourable Sarmite D. Bulte
THE HONOURABLE SARMITE D. BULTE, P.C, M.P.
PARKDALE-HIGH PARK
• Elected June 1997
• Re-Elected November 2000 and June 2004
• Appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage July 2004
• Appointed to the Privy Council July 2004
• Elected Chair of the Ontario Caucus February 2004 - present
• Chair of the Prime Ministerís Task Force on Women Entrepreneurs November 2002 - present
• Appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage December 2000 ‚ January 2003
I. COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIPS
• Chair of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage - February 2004-May 2004
• Member of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage - 1997-present
• Member of the Standing Joint Committee on Official Languages - 2001-2003
• Chaired the Sub-Committee on International Trade, Trade Disputes and Investment -1998-2000
• Former Member of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration -1997-1998
II. TASK FORCES
• Chair of the Prime Ministerís Task Force on Women Entrepreneurs ‚ November 2002 - present
• Member of the Prime Ministerís Task Force on Youth Entrepreneurship ‚ 1998-1999
• Chair of the Liberal Caucus Committee on the Canadian Radio-Television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) ‚ 1998
• Member of the Liberal Caucus Task Force on Financial Institutions ‚ 1997-1998
III. AWARDS
• The Polish Combatantsí Association in Canada, Inc., Gold Cross Award in appreciation of noteworthy assistance and support of the Polish Community in Canada ‚ May 2004
• Women Entrepreneurs of Canada (WEC) Life Tribute 2003 Award ‚ May 2003
• The Estonian Central Council in Canada ‚ Estonian Canadian Gold Medal of Merit for Outstanding Contributions to Canadians of Estonian Heritage and for the Cause of Freedom and Human Rights in Estonia ‚ February 2001
• Canadian Polish Congress (Toronto Branch) Silver Award for exceptional work on behalf of the Polish Community in Parkdale-High Park ‚ November 2000
• Soroptimist International Eastern Canada Region 2000 Women of Distinction Award ‚ August 2000
• Soroptimist International of Toronto 2000 Women of Distinction Award in the area of Economic and Social Development ‚ June 2000
• Ontario Volunteer Service Award ‚ June 1999
• Canadian Embassyís Award for Outstanding Contribution to Businesswomen Associations in Canada ‚ October 1998
• Nominated for the 1995 YMCA Women of Distinction Award; nominated twice, in 1994 and 1995, for the Women Who Make A Difference Award (The Bay)
IV. COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION (CPA)
• Re-Elected Chair of the Federal Branch of the CPA ‚ 2002 to-date
• Served as a Canadian Regional Representative of the International Executive of the
CPA ‚ 2000-2003
• Participated at the CPA Conference to mark the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, held in London, England - March 2002
• Participated at the CPA Study Group on Parliament and International Trade System - February 2002
• Served as Chair of the Federal Branch of the CPA - 1998-2000
V. FOREIGN AFFAIRS EXPERIENCE
• Participant at the Vth European Conference of Ministers responsible for Cultural Heritage, organized by the Council of Europe, held in Portoro_, Republic of Slovenia ‚ April 2001
• Special Envoy for Canada to the Baltic States to secure their support for Canadaís candidacy at the United Nations Security Council - March 1998
VI. INTERNATIONAL TRADE EXPERIENCE
• Member of the Canadian delegation to the Women Leadersí Network of the APEC Economies held in Chiang Mai, Thailand ‚ July 2003. Speaker on the Prime Ministerís Task Force on Women Entrepreneurs
• Member of the Canadian delegation to the Women Leadersí Network of the APEC Economies held in Acapulco, Mexico ‚ August 2002
• Member of the Canadian delegation and Keynote Speaker to the Women Leadersí Network of the APEC Economies, ìChallenges and Opportunities for Asia-Pacific Women in the Process of Economic Globalizationî, held in Beijing, China ‚ August 2001 Delegate in the State Visit of the Governor General of Canada and His Excellency to Chile ‚ May 2001
• Leader of the Canadian Trade and Investment Mission to the Baltic States ‚ September 2000
• Member of the Canadian delegation to the Women Leadersí Network of the APEC Economies, ìSMEs as Global Tradersî, held in Brunei, Darussalam ‚ June 2000
• Member of the Canadian delegation to the Women Leadersí Network of the APEC Economies held in New Zealand ‚ June 1999
• Participating at the first-ever Canada-U.S. Businesswomenís Trade Summit held in Toronto ‚ May 1999
• Leader of the Canadian Trade and Investment Mission to the Baltic States ‚ November 1998
• Member of the Canadian delegation to the Women Leadersí Network of the APEC Economies held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ‚ September 1998
• Participant on the first Canadian Businesswomenís Trade Mission to Washington ‚ November 1997
• Attended the Women Leadersí Network of the APEC Economies held in Hull, Quebec ‚ September 1997
VII. MISCELLANEOUS
• Chair of the Baltic States Friendship Group
• Canadian representative to the Second Global Congress of Women in Politics held in Manila, Philippines ‚ August 1998
• Board member of the Alliance for Ontario Universities and MIT/York University Enterprise Forum from 1993-1995
• Appointed to the Bell Canada Consumer Advisory Panel in 1993 to represent women and small business
VIII. EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
• Law Society of Upper Canada Bar Admission Course. Called to Ontario Bar April 1980
• Bachelor of Laws, Faculty of Law, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario ‚ 1978
• Honours Bachelor of Arts, University College, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Specialist Certificate in English ‚ 1975
• Owned and operated full-service law firm in downtown Toronto ‚ 1980-1998
IX. ARTS AND CULTURE
• Participated at the 2001 Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT) Annual General Meeting held in Kamloops, B.C. as keynote speaker with the ìState of the Nationís Address on the Artsî ‚ June 2001
• Appointed Chairman of The Canadian Stage Crown Foundation on February 14, 1997, the date of its creation
• Past-President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Canadian Stage Company, one of the largest not-for-profit theatre companies in Canada, since 1993. Joined as a Director in 1988. Under her leadership, subscriptions increased from 8,800 to 20,000; in 1994-1995, the Company received 37 Dora Award nominations and was the first recipient of the Lieutenant Governorís Award for the Arts in recognition of arts organizations which have built exceptional private sector and community support
• Director of The Council for Business and the Arts in Canada
• Has spoken on behalf of the arts in Canada to the Liberal Party of Canada (Ontario) and Metro Council
• Member of the organizing committee of the 1995-1996 Annual General Meeting of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT)
• Appointed member of the Canada Council Task Force on Tax Reform in 1995
• Nominated for the Bovey Awards
X. WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS AND ADVOCACY FOR WOMEN
• Founding member and Director of Women Entrepreneurs of Canada (WEC); served as its Vice-President, International
• Chaired the international conference ìLaunching Global Networksî at the Hotel Inter-Continental, Toronto. Conference included the annual Presidentsí Meeting of the global organization of women entrepreneurs, Les Femmes Chefs DíEntreprises Mondiales (FCEM), an organization with 30,000 members in 35 countries, and a conference open to male and female business owners hosted by WEC, the Canadian representative of FCEM ‚ April 30‚May 4, 1997
• Founding member and director of the Women Entrepreneurs of Canada Foundation
• Was integral in obtaining admission of WEC into FCEM in 1992. Prepared documentation for FCEM to enter the United Nations as an NGO and was one of FCEMís UN representatives
• Helped to organize the first WEC conference, a US-Canada Summit for Women Entrepreneurs in Toronto ‚ June 1992
• Appointed member of the Step-Up Program from 1992-1994 (a mentoring program for women in the early stages of developing business) sponsored by the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and former Federal Business Development Bank (now Business Development Bank of Canada)
• Represented Canada on the FCEM Board of Directors and co-chaired the 1989 FCEM World Congress in Toronto
• Past-President of the Canadian Association of Women Executives and Entrepreneurs (CAWEE) from 1987-1988
• Represented WEC and CAWEE as an advocate for womenís business issues in federal, provincial and municipal consultations
• Served on the boards of: Legal Education Action Fund (LEAF) Endowment Committee (active in fundraising for LEAF); Judy LaMarsh Fund since 1988 (raises money to help women run for federal political office); Honorary Patron, Margaret Campbell Dinner (raises funds for female provincial candidates)
XI. THE LATVIAN COMMUNITY
• Member of the board of the Latvian National Federation in Canada Educational and Cultural Foundation since 1992;
• Former Corporate Secretary and General Counsel of the Latvian Credit Union Limited and was on their board from 1981-1991
• Elected to the Governing Council of the Latvian National Federation in Canada
• Public speaking in the Latvian Community to ensure that the elderly are aware of their rights
XII. ADDITIONAL BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
• Born in Hamilton, Ontario in 1953
• Married with three children
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