A lawyer and author, Renée Dupuis was appointed to the Senate of Canada as an Independent Senator in November 2016.
Ms. Dupuis is a member of the Barreau du Québec and specializes in human rights, law in regard to Aboriginal peoples and administrative law. She is also accredited in civil and commercial mediation with the Barreau du Québec.
Ms. Dupuis served as Vice-President of the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse du Québec from August 2011 to October 2016 and was appointed Honorary Witness of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. From 2003 to 2009, Ms. Dupuis chaired the Indian Specific Claims Commission, a federal commission of inquiry and mediation. Over the course of her career, Ms. Dupuis has served as counsel to a number of Quebec First Nations groups and consulted on Indigenous issues with the federal and Quebec governments. She also has significant experience in bilateral and multilateral negotiations with the federal and provincial governments.
Ms. Dupuis was also a member of the Canadian Human Rights Act Review Panel in 2000 and served as a commissioner with the Canadian Human Rights Commission (1989-1995), where she took a special interest in such issues as discrimination against women, sexual harassment, pay equity and employment equity. The Canadian Human Rights Commission published a study that Ms. Dupuis was asked to conduct on the handling of sexual harassment complaints (1997). Over the past 30 years, she has been involved both professionally and as a volunteer in training initiatives for women and women’s organizations.
More information can be found at: https://sencanada.ca/en/senators/dupuis-renee/