SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — The Honourable Michèle Audette
Congratulations on Honorary Doctorate
June 9, 2022
Honourable senators, in this National Indigenous History Month, I would like to introduce you to someone who needs no introduction, an exceptional person, whom I consider today as a sister in the great Senate family. Yes, I would even say a twin sister, because we were appointed on the same day, July 29, 2021, as independent senators from Quebec to the Senate of Canada. I chose to present her to you today because yesterday was another great day for this great and inspiring lady, who received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ottawa. I’m talking about my very dear Michèle Audette.
Born to a Quebec father and an Innu mother, Senator Audette has played a key role in the transformation of relations between Indigenous peoples and Quebec and Canadian society since the 1990s. At only 27 years old, she was elected president of Quebec Native Women Inc. In 2004, she was appointed Associate Deputy Minister of Quebec’s Secretariat for the Status of Women. She served as president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada from 2012 to 2015. In 2015, she helped create an innovative graduate program in Indigenous public administration for the National School of Public Administration.
The Honourable Michèle Audette was appointed as one of five commissioners to lead the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Since 2019, she has held the position of assistant to the Vice Rector of Academic and Student Affairs and senior adviser for reconciliation and Indigenous education at Université Laval.
Senator Audette has an inspiring career that has allowed her to receive countless recognitions, including the Women of Distinction Award in the Inspiration category from the Montreal Women’s Y Foundation. In addition, to highlight her admirable dedication to the cause of Indigenous women, the Université de Montréal also awarded her an honorary doctorate. Our country should consider itself lucky to have a leader like her in the upper house of Parliament.
Dear friend and “twin sister,” the Honourable Clément Gignac and I were marked by your speech delivered in front of hundreds of young graduates, all equally enthralled.
Congratulations on this umpteenth recognition. Continue to share love as you do around you. It is very contagious, and it is the main ingredient needed for reconciliation. Thank you.
I, too, rise to congratulate Senator Audette.
“I am here. I am alive. We are here. We are alive.” Honourable senators, these words have echoed in my mind and in my soul ever since they were first uttered by my dear colleague and friend, Senator Michèle Audette.
A leader and advocate, she has spent less than a year in this colonial institution, but already her impact is irrefutable. When she enters a room, Senator Audette brings with her warmth and kindness, as well as a drive to make historic wrongs right, to Inuitize, to Indigenize, to pursue equality, equity and social justice. This is a continuation of a lifetime of work transforming relationships between Indigenous peoples and Canadian and Québécois societies.
Senator Gerba has already done justice to what has been an astounding career, and now she is a recipient of an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa.
At yesterday’s celebration, I was sitting next to Senator Audette’s dad, whom she describes as “the most wonderful dad in Quebec.” He mentioned that, even at age four, she had a way of commanding a room. He fondly recalled seeing her wearing a dress made by her maternal grandmother, displaying pride in her culture.
As Jacques Frémont, the President and Vice-Chancellor of the university, put it so well, “You are an exemplary role model of perseverance . . . .”
And she has been an inspiring role model for me as well.
Timing is a funny thing, folks. In her speech yesterday, Senator Audette spoke of the dream she had, at age 28, of becoming a senator. Now she is here at exactly the right time, during the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, a time when we must focus on truth, reconciliation and healing and a period when Canadian society is coming to terms with our history.
My friend, as you light the way for your children, your grandchildren and your community, please know that your light shines in this place, too.
Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition from the University of Ottawa.
[Editor’s Note: Senator spoke in an Indigenous language.]
Congratulations, honourable senator.
