Date: January 29, 2010 For immediate release
PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER NAMES FIVE OUTSTANDING CANADIANS TO SENATE

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper today filled five vacancies in the Senate.

Appointed are Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu (QC), Bob Runciman (ON), Vim Kochhar (ON), Elizabeth (Beth) Marshall (NL) and Rose-May Poirier (NB). These appointments give the Government a plurality of seats in the Upper House.

Vim Kochhar is the President and founder of the Vimal Group of Companies in Toronto. Working for InterContinental Hotels and Howard Johnson Hotels, he was responsible for project management of major hotels around the world.

For the past 30 years, Mr. Kochhar has played an active role in the community by creating the Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons. Through this foundation, Mr. Kochhar has created the annual Great Valentine Galas, the Terry Fox Hall of Fame, Rolling Rampage for elite wheelchair athletes, the Canadian Helen Keller Centre, Rotary Cheshire Homes for the Deaf-Blind, and the WhyNot Marathon for the Paralympics. He has also been a friend of Easter Seals and has attended some of their meetings and events over the years. He is currently serving as Board Member for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and as Chair of the Canadian Paralympic Foundation.

Among many other distinctions, Mr. Kochhar was chosen by India Abroad as one of the 30 most influential Canadians of Indian origin. Born in India, Mr. Kochhar received his engineering degree at the University of Texas and immigrated to Canada in 1967, becoming a Canadian citizen in 1974.