Who is Anita Anand, Canada’s new defence minister?

Canada on Wednesday introduced the appointment of Anita Anand because the defence minister following a cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The new cabinet was fashioned following the Liberal social gathering’s victory within the latest elections.
Anand, an Indian-origin Canadian, will substitute Harjit Sajjan and take oath because the forty third Defence Minister of Canada. She is barely the second girl to carry the place. She is preceded solely by former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell, who held the Defence Minister’s publish for 5 months in 1993.
Who is Anita Anand?
The 54-year-old minister was born within the coastal Canadian province of Nova Scotia to Indian dad and mom hailing from Punjab and Tamil Nadu. She has two sisters — Dr. Sonia Anand and lawyer Gita Anand — who’ve been seen along with her on the marketing campaign path.

Sisters help within the closing day of the marketing campaign ⁦@AnitaOakville⁩ Going sturdy! pic.twitter.com/9ULcdYPvMM
— Dr. Sonia Anand (@DrSoniaAnand1) September 18, 2021
Anand holds 4 levels, together with a bachelors diploma in political science and a masters in regulation, and has labored as a lawyer, a regulation professor and researcher. She specialised in company and securities regulation, and regulation of capital markets with a particular give attention to company governance, enforcement, capital elevating methods and systemic danger, in line with a profile on her official web site. She labored extensively within the sector previous to her political pivot.
She was elected to the Parliament from Oakville in 2019, and rose to prominence because the Minister of Public Services and Procurement. She performed an essential position in procuring Covid-19 vaccines and different pandemic-related requirements, and charting Canada’s Covid-19 response, together with different key cabinet members. She is the primary Hindu Canadian to change into a federal cabinet minister. Anand lives along with her husband and 4 youngsters in Oakville, Ontario.
Anita Anand along with her household in Oakville, Canada. (Twitter/AnitaAnand)
Tough highway forward
Anand inherits a ministry shaken within the midst of a political disaster. Many high officers of the Canadian Armed Forces have confronted sexual misconduct allegations. This consists of former Chief of Defence Staff Art McDonald who was positioned on administrative depart as authorities investigated the difficulty. One of Anand’s high duties shall be to find out McDonald’s substitute, and extra importantly, if he ought to. McDonald’s duties are actually being carried out by Gen. Wayne Eyre within the capability of performing chief.

It is my honest honour to be sworn in at the moment as Minister of National Defence. Thank you @JustinTrudeau for entrusting me with this portfolio. pic.twitter.com/4QpXA5hcL6
— Anita Anand (@AnitaOakville) October 26, 2021
Equally worrying can be the acute scarcity of recent recruits. Gen. Eyre just lately stated that the Canadian army in need of 7,500 individuals in full-time roles. The recruitment drive has seen lacklustre outcomes as a result of misconduct allegations and the pandemic, in line with a CBC report.
Speaking to reporters following Trudeau’s announcement, Anand stated that she shall be reviewing the continued disaster and can dedicate all her power to the brand new place. “I will say that my top priority is to make sure that everyone in the Armed Forces feels safe and protected and they have the supports that they need, when they need them, and the structures in place to ensure that justice is served,” she stated, reported Canadian media home CBC News.