Senator, Parliament of Canada

A member of the Gordon First Nation in Saskatchewan, and a first-generation Chinese Canadian, the Honourable Dr. Lillian Eva Quan Dyck is well-known for her extensive work in the senate on Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women. She is also known for pushing for equity in the education and employment of women and Aboriginals. She is the first female First Nations senator and first Canadian born Chinese senator. She earned her B.A. (Honours) and M.Sc. degrees in Biochemistry in 1968 and 1970, respectively and obtained a Ph.D. in Biological Psychiatry in 1981, all from the University of Saskatchewan. She was conferred a Doctor of Letters, Honoris Causa by Cape Breton University in 2007. She has been recognized in a number of ways, such as A National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Science & Technology in 1999; A YWCA Woman of Distinction Award for Science, Technology & the Environment in 2003 and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019; and three eagle feathers (2005, 2019). Senator Dyck was a Full Professor in the Neuropsychiatry Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Associate Dean, College of Graduate Studies & Research at the University of Saskatchewan. In 2005, she was summoned to the senate by the Rt. Hon. Paul Martin. She is the Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples. Her priority areas are Aboriginals, Chinese Canadians, Women in Science, Engineering & Technology, Post-secondary education and the tragedy of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls (MMIWGS). She speaks across Canada on these topics and others.