Anita Anand

Anita Indira Anand PC MP is the minister of public services and procurement and the receiver general for Canada. She has represented the riding of Oakville in the House of Commons since the 2019 federal election, sitting as a member of the Liberal Party. She is the first Canadian of Hindu background to become a federal minister in Canada.[2][3]

For the British journalist, see Anita Anand (journalist).
The Honourable

Anita Anand

PC MP
Minister of Public Services and Procurement
Receiver General for Canada
Assumed office
November 20, 2019
Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau
Preceded byCarla Qualtrough
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Oakville
Assumed office
October 21, 2019
Preceded byJohn Oliver
Personal details
Born1967 (age 53–54)[1]
Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada
Political partyLiberal
ResidenceOakville, Ontario
Alma materDalhousie University
Wadham College, Oxford University
Queen's University
University of Toronto
ProfessionLawyer, Politician

Prior to her political career, Anand was a professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law specializing in corporate governance and the regulation of the capital markets.[4] She was previously the J.R. Kimber Chair in Investor Protection and Corporate Governance at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law.[4] She was also Scholar-in-Residence at the law firm Torys LLP.[5] As of October 2019, Anand is on leave from University of Toronto, Faculty of Law,[4] for the duration of her time as an elected official.

Early life and education

Anita Anand was born in Kentville, Nova Scotia. Her parents were both physicians; her mother Saroj D. Ram (now deceased) was an anesthesiologist, and her father S.V. (Andy) Anand was a general surgeon. Her father was from Tamil Nadu and her mother was from Punjab.[2] Anand has two sisters: Gita Anand, who is an employment lawyer in Toronto, and Sonia Anand, who is a medical doctor and researcher at McMaster University.

The family relocated to Ontario in 1985 and Anand and her husband John[6] raised their family in Oakville. The couple has four children.[7]

Anand holds four degrees: a bachelor of arts (honours) in political studies from Queen's University; a bachelor of arts (honours) in Jurisprudence from Wadham College, Oxford University; a bachelor of laws from Dalhousie University; and a master of laws from the University of Toronto. She was called to the Ontario Bar in 1994.[6]

Anand has held academic positions at Yale, Queen's University and Western University. Before her election, Anand was a law professor at the University of Toronto.[8]

Academic career

Anand is an expert in corporate governance, investor rights, and financial market regulation. Since her election, Anand has been on leave from the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto.

Anand began her legal career as an associate at Torys from 1994 to 1997 (with leave to pursue her master's degree), after articling at Torys from 1992–1993. She then pursued her teaching career by serving as assistant professor (adjunct) from 1997–1999 at the Faculty of Law of Western University.[4] In 1999, she became assistant professor in the Faculty of Law at Queen's University, obtaining tenure and advancing to the rank of associate professor in 2003.[4] She received a U.S.-Canada Fulbright award in 2005[9] and attended Yale Law School as a visiting lecturer in Law (Fall 2005) teaching comparative corporate governance. She was also visiting Olin scholar in law and economics at Yale Law School (2005-2006).

She left Queen's University for the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto in 2006 where she was a full professor. She served as associate dean from 2007–2009. From 2010–2019, Anand also served as the academic director of the Centre for the Legal Profession, as well as for its Program on Ethics in Law and Business. At the time of her election, she was a senior fellow of Massey College, as well as being cross-appointed to the Rotman School of Management as the director of policy and research at the Capital Markets Research Institute, and to the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto.[4]

The Government of Canada web site provides the following additional background information:[6]

Minister Anand has completed extensive research on the regulation of financial markets, corporate governance, and shareholder rights, and has appeared regularly in the media to discuss these topics. In 2015, she was appointed to the Government of Ontario's Expert Committee to Consider Financial Advisory and Financial Planning Policy Alternatives. She has conducted research for Ontario's Five-Year Review Committee, the federal Wise Person's Committee, and the Task Force to Modernize Securities Legislation in Canada.

On September 17, 2019 it was announced that Anand would receive the Yvan Allaire Medal from the Royal Society of Canada. The medal is bestowed annually for an outstanding contribution in governance of private and public organizations.[10][11] The Society stated that Anand's research "significantly altered global thinking about best practices for boards of directors, including the importance of diversity on boards".[12]

Political career (2019–present)

2019 Federal Election

On June 12, 2019, Anita Anand won the Liberal nomination for the riding of Oakville, Ontario, after the incumbent John Oliver announced that he would not run in the 2019 election.[13] She defeated former member of Provincial Parliament Kevin Flynn[14] and lawyer Tamur Shah for the nomination.[15] On October 21, 2019, Anand won the riding of Oakville with 30,265 votes.[16]

Anand was sworn in as the member of Parliament for Oakville on November 22, 2019 and represents Oakville in the House of Commons in the 43rd Canadian Parliament.

Minister of Public Services and Procurement

On November 20, 2019, Anand was sworn in as a member of the Privy Council and as procurement minister at Rideau Hall. The ministry web site states that it "serves as purchasing agent, property manager, treasurer, accountant and pay and pension administrator for the federal government", according to a Toronto Star summary.

COVID-19 response

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to rapidly equip the healthcare system, the federal government accelerated its procurement capabilities on an emergency basis to bulk buy personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical supplies. As procurement minister, Anand has been one of the key players in procuring the supplies needed to protect against COVID-19. In order to ensure reliable access to PPE in a hyper-competitive global market, Anand and her department pursued an aggressive procurement strategy, engaging a number of suppliers, while ensuring diversity in Canada’s supply chains.[17] A significant aspect of this strategy has included the establishment of large-scale domestic production of medical supplies.

Beginning in the spring of 2020, businesses across Canada launched, retooled, and scaled up their production of PPE and medical supplies, including as part of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s plan to mobilize industry to fight COVID-19. This includes the production of goods that had not previously been manufactured domestically en masse, such as face shields, hand sanitizer and ventilators.[18] For longer term solutions to Canada’s PPE needs, contracts were executed to establish domestic production of N95 masks.[19] The establishment of these domestic production lines is intended to avoid a reliance solely on international supply chains.[20]

The federal pandemic procurement umbrella has grown to include both rapid and serological tests in addition to the reagents and swabs secured for laboratory-based testing. Additionally, Canada has secured agreements for a range of COVID-19 vaccine candidates, as well as the supplies that are needed to package and administer those vaccines, including; fill and finish machines, vials, syringes, and sharps containers. [21] Anand led the department while the landscape has shifted from the emergency procurement of PPE to the procurement and roll out of vaccines.[22]

Much like the other areas of Canada’s COVID-19 procurements, the approach to vaccines has focused on diversification. Having secured access to seven vaccine candidates, which ensures that Canada does not depend on a single vaccine when it comes to the eventual discovery of safe and effective vaccines.[23][24] As a result of this multi-pronged approach, Canada has one of largest and most diverse vaccine candidate portfolios in the world,[25] with delivery timelines on par with comparable jurisdictions, such as Japan, the EU and Australia [8,9]. Canada has also joined the COVAX Facility and is also one of the highest contributors to the COVAX Advanced Market Commitment, with an investment of $220 million to support equitable access around the world. The work ahead includes establishing the transportation and logistics systems behind the vaccine distribution effort led by the Public Health Agency of Canada. The first deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Canada in December 2020, following authorization.[26]

Electoral record
2019 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalAnita Anand30,26546.3
ConservativeTerence Young25,56139.1
New DemocraticJerome Adamo4,9287.5
GreenJames Elwick3,7045.7
People'sJD Meaney7981.2
Christian HeritageSushila Pereira1450.2
Total valid votes/Expense limit 65,401100.0
Total rejected ballots 487
Turnout 65,88873.1
Eligible voters 90,144
Source: Elections Canada[27][28]

Awards and recognition
  • Governor General's Medal (1985)[29]
  • Medal in Political Studies, Queen's University (1989)[29]
  • Canadian Association of Law Teachers' Scholarly Paper Award (2003)[29]
  • Queens' Law Students' Society Excellence in Teaching Award, Queen's University (Fall 2004)[29]
  • Canada U.S. Fulbright Scholar Award (2005-2006)[9]
  • Best Paper in Managerial Finance (with L. Purda and F. Milne), International Journal of Managerial Finance (2006)[29]
  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council awards (2017, 2011, 2006, 2001)[29]
  • Bertha Wilson Honour Society, Schulich School of Law (2012)[29]
  • Trailblazer Award, Canadian Association of South Asian Lawyers (2013)[29]
  • Law Foundation of Ontario Research Award (2016)[29]
  • Yvan Allaire Medal, Royal Society of Canada (2019)[10][11]

Personal life

Anand, her husband John, and four children have lived in Oakville, Ontario for 17 years.[30]

Over her 17 years in Oakville, Anand has served her local community in a number of ways. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Lighthouse for Grieving Children, the Oakville Hospital Foundation and Oakville Hydro Electricity Distribution Inc.[13][31] She was also the inaugural chair of the Ontario Securities Commission Investor Advisory Panel.[8]

References
  1. Date information sourced from Library of Congress Authorities data, via corresponding WorldCat Identities linked authority file (LAF).
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2020-01-29. Retrieved 2019-11-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Anita Anand first Hindu to be appointed cabinet minister in Canada". Hindustan Times. 2019-11-21. Archived from the original on 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  4. "Anita Anand | University of Toronto Faculty of Law". www.law.utoronto.ca. Archived from the original on 2019-10-01. Retrieved 2019-09-11.
  5. "Torys, Anita Anand Scholar-in-Residence".
  6. "The Honourable Anita Anand Minister of Public Services and Procurement". Government of Canada. 20 November 2019. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  7. "Anita Anand". Liberal Party of Canada. 25 November 2019. Archived from the original on 4 November 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  8. "Newly elected MP Anita Anand brings a wealth of experience to public services portfolio". Toronto Star. 3 January 2020. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  9. "Fulbright Canada Database". Fulbright Canada. Archived from the original on 2020-09-29. Retrieved 2019-09-11.
  10. "Three U of T faculty, PhD student honoured with Royal Society of Canada awards of excellence". University of Toronto News. Archived from the original on 2019-09-20. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
  11. "Press Release | 2019 Medal and Award Winners | The Royal Society of Canada". rsc-src.ca. Archived from the original on 2020-01-04. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
  12. "Newly elected MP Anita Anand brings a wealth of experience to public services portfolio". Toronto Star. 3 January 2020. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  13. "Anita Anand, Oakville's Federal Liberal Candidate". Oakville News. 13 June 2019. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  14. "'Honoured to win the support': The Oakville Liberal candidate has been chosen for federal election". InsideHalton.com. 2019-06-13. Archived from the original on 2019-06-15. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  15. "Tamur For Oakville – Liberal". Archived from the original on 2019-09-20. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
  16. Canada, Elections. "Election Night Results - Electoral Districts". enr.elections.ca. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  17. "COVID-19: Planning for 'every eventuality,' Canada is ordering all the protective gear it can". April 16, 2020.
  18. "Canada's struggle to get COVID-19 medical gear shows why we need to make our own, minister says". April 16, 2020.
  19. "Trudeau, Ford unveil deal to produce N95 masks at Brockville, Ont., 3M plant". August 21, 2020.
  20. Government of Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada (2020-07-31). "COVID-19 contract information - Supplying the Canadian healthcare sector in response to COVID-19 - Supporting Canada's response to COVID-19 - PSPC". www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  21. "Federal government orders supplies to give two doses of COVID-19 vaccine when it's ready". July 18, 2020.
  22. "Federal government orders supplies to give two doses of COVID-19 vaccine when it's ready | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  23. Austen, Ian (2020-09-11). "The Vaccine Challenge: 'Not Putting All Our Eggs in One Basket'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  24. "The global race for a COVID-19 vaccine is underway. Here's Canada's strategy to emerge a winner". thestar.com. 2020-09-05. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  25. "Ranking countries' likelihood to secure a future coronavirus vaccine". politico.com. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  26. "1st doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine arrive in Canada | CBC News". CBC News. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  27. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Archived from the original on October 8, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  28. "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Archived from the original on December 8, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  29. "Anita Anand - Rotman School of Management". www.rotman.utoronto.ca. Archived from the original on 2019-09-23. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
  30. https://m.hindustantimes.com/indians-abroad/anita-anand-first-hindu-to-be-appointed-cabinet-minister-in-canada/story-jvrrn8tVMoUZAu3pUyz7jL.html
  31. "Our Board". www.grievingchildrenlighthouse.org. Archived from the original on 2019-09-11. Retrieved 2019-09-11.
29th Ministry – Cabinet of Justin Trudeau
Cabinet post (1)
Predecessor Office Successor
Carla Qualtrough Minister of Public Services and Procurement
November 20, 2019 –		 Incumbent
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