SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — African Canadian Senate Group

Honourable senators, I rise today with gratitude, news and joy — but first, with gratitude.

Senator Rosemary Moodie is the founding chair of the African Canadian Senate Group, or ACSG. She served from the group’s founding in 2020 until February 2026. It is no small feat to start something new, to build a community and help it flourish and to bring people together and make things happen. Thank you, Rosemary.

The African Canadian Senate Group regularly hosts a joyful Black History Month gala. It has travelled to hold its first-ever meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington, and it has advocated, connected with stakeholders and worked together.

Honourable senators, the ACSG consists of Senators Wanda Thomas Bernard, Amina Gerba, Rosemary Moodie, Mohamed Ravalia, Sharon Burey, Tony Ince, Paulette Senior, Suze Youance and me. Our retired members are former senators Mobina Jaffer and Marie-Françoise Mégie.

You have seen — and you will see — that our members are not a monolith because African Canadians are not a monolith. Our stories are diverse, as is our intersectionality. Like all African Canadians, we are connected to the African continent in many different ways. There is no one path that brought us here to Canada.

Here in the Senate, we are members of the Independent Senators Group, the Canadian Senators Group and the Progressive Senate Group. We represent Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario. African-Canadian staff sit at our table. Together, we stand against anti-Black racism. We speak for communities that are too often underserved and unheard.

We’re working together to make the Senate a more inclusive institution. We’re giving a stronger voice to African-Canadians in the Senate, facilitating their direct participation in the parliamentary process and highlighting their intersectional experiences.

We stand for improvements to employment equity, gender equality, education, mental health, health and justice. We advocate for youth and members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

Honourable senators, I am proud to stand alongside my ACSG colleagues as chair, working with Deputy Chair Bernard.

I’m optimistic about the work that the African Canadian Senate Group will accomplish together and the work that it will accomplish with the Senate.

I cannot tell you what this group means to me. When I took my oath in this chamber, alongside my godmother, Senator Bernard, I danced — briefly, very briefly, but joyfully.

When Senator Moodie invited me to join a group of people who look like me, I rejoiced. Today, I do so again. Thank you. Nia:wen.