![['<p>Dr. Mohamed Ravalia (left) received the Order of Canada from the Governor General David Johnston.</p>']](https://saltwire.imgix.net/ravalia-3099355.jpg?cs=srgb&fit=crop&h=568&w=847&dpr=1&auto=compress%2Cenhance%2Cformat)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced that the Governor General has appointed Dr. Mohamed-Iqbal Ravalia as an independent senator to fill a vacancy in Newfoundland and Labrador.
In a news release from the prime minister’s office, it states that Ravalia is a community leader and family physician in Twillingate, and senior medical officer at the Notre Dame Bay Memorial Health Centre.
He is also an associate professor of family medicine and the Assistant Dean of Rural Medical Education Network at Memorial University.
“I am pleased to welcome Parliament’s newest independent Senator, Mohamed-Iqbal Ravalia,” Trudeau said. “Dr. Ravalia’s vast knowledge and experience have earned him high respect in the medical field, and I am confident that he will be a great ambassador in the Senate, not just for Newfoundland and Labrador, but for all of Canada.”
Ravalia holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Rhodesia, in present-day Zimbabwe. He overcame the apartheid in Zimbabwe and found the community environment he was missing in his native country in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. His deep appreciation for the province, its landscape, and its people comes from his unique experience as an immigrant.
Ravalia has been recognized for his dedication to the medical field and his contribution to rural medicine in Newfoundland and Labrador. He has been awarded the Canadian Family Physician of the Year Award and received the Order of Canada. In 2012, Ravalia was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.
Ravalia and his wife Dianne have two sons, Adam and Mikhail. During his free time, he enjoys travelling, reading and playing golf.
Ravalia’s appointment marks 34 appointments to the Senate made on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
