Oilsands Quest, Inc. and has also served on the board of Gluskin Sheff & Associates, Inc., an investment and wealth management firm and as a member of the advisory board of BMO Harris Bank. In 2013, as a result of the Senate expense claims scandal she was embroiled in, Wallin resigned from all three paid positions she held outside of the Senate: as a director of Gluskin Sheff & Associates, a wealth management firm, in May 2013, the board of Porter Airlines in June 2013 after having been on the board since 2008, and the board of the Ideas Council. Canadian Senate On January 2, 2009, Wallin was appointed to the Senate of Canada on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Following her expulsion from the Conservative Senate Caucus in 2013, Wallin identified as an Independent from 2013 to 2016. From 2016 until 2019, Wallin has caucused with the Independent Senators Group. On November 4, 2019, Senator Wallin joined the Canadian Senators Group. Residency and travel expense controversy Wallin decided to leave the Conservative caucus on May 17, 2013, until an audit into her expense claims could be completed. On November 5, 2013, the Senate voted to suspend Wallin without pay for the duration of the 41st Canadian Parliament for alleged theft from the public purse. The suspension ended with dissolution of parliament for the 2015 federal election. In 2016 the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced that criminal charges would not be laid against Wallin over her expenses. She subsequently returned to the Senate in 2015. Personal life Wallin is divorced. She was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2001. Honours In 1994, her home town of Wadena, Saskatchewan named its major street Pamela Wallin Drive in her honour. In 1999, she was inducted into the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, and in 2007 was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2008, Toastmasters International announced that Wallin would be that year's winner of their Golden Gavel award. Wallin has received 13 honorary degrees, including from Athabasca University, the University of Lethbridge and the University of Windsor. References External links 1953 births Living people Canadian diplomats Canadian game show hosts Canadian television news anchors Canadian television talk show hosts Canadian people of Swedish descent Chancellors of the University of Guelph Members of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit Officers of the Order of Canada Independent Canadian senators Canadian senators from