SFU Beedie alumni trio appointed parliamentary secretaries

From left to right: Beedie School of Business alumni Joyce Murray, Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, and Terry Beech.

Three alumni of SFU’s Beedie School of Business have been appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to the position of parliamentary secretaries.

Terry Beech, Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, and Joyce Murray were last week named Parliamentary Secretary for Science, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board, respectively.

They were among 35 MPs appointed to parliamentary secretaries positions, which serve to assist cabinet ministers in their remit and answer questions on behalf of ministers absent from the House of Commons.

“We are delighted that these three SFU alumni have been called upon to play significant roles in the new federal government,” said SFU President Andrew Petter. “As Canada’s ‘engaged university,’ it is gratifying to see our graduates participate in public service, especially in key areas such as innovation, foreign affairs, and fiscal and administrative responsibility.”

Burnaby North-Seymour MP Beech, a BBA graduate and former adjunct professor at the Beedie School of Business, will work alongside Minister of Science, Kirsty Duncan in his new role.

The position will build on the expertise crafted during his previous role as founder and CEO of tech company hiretheworld.com, a web-based logo design platform that utilizes crowdsourcing to fulfill customer needs.

Goldsmith-Jones, a graduate of the first cohort of Beedie’s Executive MBA in Aboriginal Business and Leadership, will be tasked with supporting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stephane Dion in achieving the mandate set out for him by Prime Minister Trudeau.

Representing the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country riding, Goldsmith-Jones is a former two-term mayor of West Vancouver, where she prioritized the attraction of talent to her community, and supported citizens in their leadership efforts.

Vancouver Quadra representative Murray will assist Scott Brison, President of the Treasury Board, in his goal of leading the management agenda of the government and overseeing the implementation and delivery of Cabinet-approved initiatives.

After graduating in 1992 from the Beedie School of Business’ Executive MBA program, for which she received the Dean’s Convocation Medal as the top MBA graduate, Murray was first elected to Parliament in 2008. She has served on the standing committees of Trade, Health, Fisheries and Oceans, Environment and Sustainable Development, and Defence.