Former Conservative candidate in New Westminster-Coquitlam Yonah Martin is among the three newly appointed senators from B.C. 

Here’s the quick version of her bio on the CBC story:

Yonah Martin is a Coquitlam schoolteacher who has been active in the Korean-Canadian community. She served on the Multicultural Advisory Council of B.C. and ran as a Conservative candidate in the constituency of New Westminster-Coquitlam in the last election, but lost by 1,500 votes to NDP incumbent Dawn Black.

This round of Senate picks is controversial because Prime Minister Stephen Harper has always insisted that senators should be elected, not appointed. The CBC explains:

The prime minister, again heading a minority government, said he filled the vacancies to prevent a potential Liberal-NDP coalition from getting the opportunity.

He had held off filling the 18 vacancies in hopes of reforming the Senate to make sure members are elected, but he has been unable to pass any legislation to that effect.

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