SAINT JOHN, N.B. -- Former New Brunswick senator Erminie Cohen has died at the age of 92.

According to an obituary on the Brenan's Funeral Homes and Crematorium website, Cohen died Friday at the Saint John Regional Hospital.

In a statement, Premier Blaine Higgs describes her as a "community leader, passionate member of the Jewish community and life-long social justice advocate."

The statement says Cohen was named to the New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women in the 1970s, before founding the non-profit group Saint John Women for Action.

She was appointed to the Senate by former prime minister Brian Mulroney in 1993 and served for eight years before retiring in 2001, when she continued her work on issues such as adoption and poverty.

Cohen received the Order of Canada and the Order of New Brunswick for her work.

Her funeral will be held on Monday.