One of Canada’s newest senators, David Arnot, had a brief connection to Weyburn when his family lived in the city during the 1960s.
Most recently serving as the Saskatchewan Human Rights Chief Commissioner, Arnot was appointed as an independent Senator on July 29 by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“This is a great honour and I am truly humbled,” said Arnot. “The Prime Minister was clear when he spoke to me that he expects me to make a significant contribution to the work of the Senate, and to help tackle the broad range of challenges and opportunities facing our country. He also underlined the fact that I will be able to contribute to the work of the Senate in an independent and non-partisan fashion to ensure integrity and collaboration in service to Parliament and all Canadians.”
He moved to Weyburn with his family in 1963, when David’s father Jerry bought the Mercury Meteor dealership, and ran Arnot Mercury on Railway Avenue from 1963 to 1969. The dealership was located across from the Royal Hotel on the corner of what is now the parking lot for the City Centre Mall.
Weyburn resident Elmer Franks worked at the dealership for six years, and said Jerry was a great member of the community and a good boss to work for. David’s mother, Yvonne (nee Elliott) was from Milestone, and her family owned a pharmacy there.
He recalled David was around 11 years old when they came to Weyburn, and he began coming to the dealership to wash cars after school.
Elmer noted that David was a brilliant student, according to former teachers of his, such as Jim Nedelcov and Ray Hamm, and he graduated with a law degree when he was 23 years old. He worked as a Crown prosecutor, and was appointed a provincial court judge at the age of 29.
Arnot was appointed Chief Commissioner of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission in 2009. Prior to that, he worked as the federal Treaty Commissioner for the Province of Saskatchewan, and as Director General of Aboriginal Justice in the Department of Justice Canada.
In 1993, as a judge with the Provincial Court of Saskatchewan, Arnot worked closely with the Poundmaker First Nation to pioneer the use of sentencing circles and restorative justice measures to promote healing in legal proceedings and to give a voice to victims, community members, and families in the pursuit of constructive resolutions.
In 2004, Arnot’s work on the “Teaching Treaties in the Classroom” project was recognized by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Racism.
Arnot is the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, the Distinguished Service Award from the Canadian Bar Association’s Saskatchewan Branch, the Miklos Kanitz Holocaust and Human Rights Award, and the University of Saskatchewan’s Canada 150 Nation Builders alumnus award.
He was named CTV’s 2016 Saskatoon Citizen of the Year and was recognized as one of Canada’s top 150 Leaders and Innovators by the Transformation Institute for Leadership and Innovation in 2018.
“I am proud to be among the persons selected for a Senate appointment through an open process, led by the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments,” said Arnot. “I look forward to serving my province and my country in this capacity.”
