Marlene Jennings | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of Parliament for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine | |
| In office 1997–2011 | |
| Preceded by | Warren Allmand |
| Succeeded by | Isabelle Morin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 10, 1951 Longueuil, Quebec |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse | Luciano Del Negro |
| Residence | Montreal |
| Profession | Non-profit executive |
Marlene Jennings PC (born November 10, 1951) is a former Canadian politician. She was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada in the House of Commons of Canada, and represented the riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine from 1997 to 2011.
Jennings was born in Longueuil, Quebec and graduated from Longueuil's Lemoyne d'Iberville High School. Her father, Preston Jennings, was an African American from Alabama and immigrated to Canada as a CPR Sleeping Car Porter. Her mother, Gilberte Garand, was a Franco-Manitoban of Belgian & French-Canadian ancestry. Jennings is a former lawyer and senior public servant. She is the former Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for International Cooperation and the former Parliamentary Secretary to the Solicitor General of Canada. From 2004 to October 2005, she was Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister with special emphasis on Canada-U.S. relations.
Jennings was the first Black woman from Quebec to be elected to Parliament. She was also one of the few parliamentarians with a physical disability, having become partially blind due to an illness in early 2010; she used visual aids and a white cane until late 2011.[1] Over seven surgical procedures successfully restored her vision.
She is also a past member of the Girl Guides of Canada.
- ^ "Devenue aveugle, la députée Jennings défend son poste" Archived 2011-05-02 at the Wayback Machine. Rue Frontenac (Montreal), April 28, 2011.