Ontario Senator Josée Forest-Niesing died on Wednesday after a battle with COVID-19, a rare heart attack of only nine months old, Montreal’s La Presse reported. She was 56. Forest-Niesing was the first victim of the new heart disorder in Canada.
“This is a sad day for the Legislative Assembly and for those who knew her,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a statement released on Wednesday. “I am terribly saddened to announce the passing of our colleague, Senator Josée Forest-Niesing. Our thoughts and condolences are with her family and her many friends. May God rest her soul.”
Forest-Niesing’s funeral will be held on July 8. She was a member of the Ontario legislature from 2000 to 2018, during which time she supported an independent bill to make policing by video cameras standard in Ontario. She also ran for the Liberal Party leadership in 2004 and 2006. Forest-Niesing also acted as Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s press secretary when she was the education minister. She’s survived by her mother.
Read the full story at CBC.ca.
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