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The Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, 2006-2014

The Senate commissions a portrait of every Speaker in recognition of the procedural and protocol importance of that role — a tradition that predates Confederation. 

The Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, who represented New Brunswick in the Senate from 1990 to 2014, served as Speaker from 2006 until his retirement. In addition to being an accomplished academic and public servant, Mr. Kinsella was a dedicated champion for human rights. He helped draft the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the document that guarantees and protects Canadians’ rights, and was instrumental in Canada’s signing and ratifying several U.N. human rights texts.

The Speaker can choose the artist for whom they would like to sit; Mr. Kinsella selected Tom Forrestall, an acclaimed magic realism painter from Nova Scotia. Mr. Forrestall left a message on the back of the painting, writing that he sought to “bring a calm dignity to the whole” in the portrait.

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