Moved second reading of Bill S-1001, An Act to amalgamate The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of Ottawa and The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation for the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall, in Ontario, Canada.

She said: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Bill S-1001, An Act to amalgamate The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of Ottawa and The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation for the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall, in Ontario, Canada. Simply put, this bill will amalgamate two corporations into one.

Let’s deal with the specifics right away.

We’re dealing with a provincially incorporated diocese and a federally incorporated archdiocese. The archdiocese chose to maintain federal private act status and amalgamate under the laws of the Parliament of Canada.

The amalgamation will help the church to be more efficient. Right now, the Ottawa-Cornwall Archdiocese is filing paperwork under two jurisdictions.

This third point is big: Obligations and liabilities of the individual entities become the responsibility of the amalgamated entity. Any previous obligations carry over — including legal claims, such as claims of abuse.

I want to be very clear on this point: When two corporations amalgamate, they join into a single entity that is not a new corporation; it is a continuation of the two predecessor corporations, so any liabilities, known or unknown, of the amalgamating corporations become the responsibility of the newly formed corporation.

Over the next few minutes, I plan to tell you about this bill, why it is relevant to my community and the impact it will have. Since Senate private bills are so uncommon, let’s dive into the history and procedure behind this type of legislation.

Public bills apply to the general community and deal with matters of public policy — so says my favourite bedtime read, Senate Procedure in Practice. If you are looking for something to help you sleep tonight, I recommend starting at Chapter 8.

Private bills confer particular powers, benefits or exemptions upon a specific person or group of persons. Prior to 1969, private bills were used to grant divorces. They can also be used to incorporate a private company or to amend existing acts of incorporation.

In this case, the bill is bringing a provincially incorporated entity — the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall — and a federally incorporated entity — the Archdiocese of Ottawa — under the same jurisdiction. The last time the Senate saw a private bill was in the fall of 2020, when my friend and colleague Senator Jaffer successfully sponsored Bill S-1001, An Act respecting Girl Guides of Canada.

In the session before that, the Senate considered three private bills. Senator Harder tells me that the project he sponsored at that time, An Act to amend The United Church of Canada Act, has similarities to this bill. I expect to lean on the expertise of these senators, and on the support of my colleagues in all groups, during the consideration of the current bill.

I am proud to facilitate the study of Bill S-1001, but I owe a debt of gratitude to Senator Ringuette and her team — specifically, Timothy Rosenburgh. They began work on this project but asked me to prendre la relève since both institutions involved include my home community.

Indeed, I have been working with familiar faces on this project who have done the background work required for private bills, including posting notices in the Canada Gazette and leading local newspapers.

Two weeks ago, with the expert help of Shaila Anwar, the Examiner of Petitions, we breezed through the first five steps of Senate procedure: tabling of petition, examination of petition, report on petition, reading of petition and introduction of the bill. An optimist would say we’re halfway there. A realist would say that there is still some work to do to convince you, my colleagues, to move this bill forward.

Let’s dive into the issue: the merging of corporations in Ottawa and in Alexandria-Cornwall.

The Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall was created in 1890, making it one of the oldest and smallest in Canada. It is located on the traditional territory of the Mohawk people of Akwesasne and of the Haudenosaunee. It has both francophone and Scottish roots and, like many religious institutions, was instrumental in the establishment of a local hospital and schools. Over a century after its founding, though, change was looming.

The process to amalgamate started six years ago with community consultations. I love effective consultations. If there is one thing that comes through from all my interventions over the coming years, I hope that it’s the voices of the many people impacted by policy; they deserve to be heard loud and clear.

I was heartened to read in a 2017 article by Cornwall Newswatch that a public meeting about amalgamating was “. . . respectful but passionate.”

For two hours, people talked about preserving local history and meeting local needs. After all, the roots of the diocese date all the way back to the earliest Catholic settlements in Upper Canada. The diocese has unique needs. It serves a francophone community but has a hard time finding bilingual bishops.

I attended one such meeting. Parishioners from all parts of the diocese showed up to insist that they didn’t want to get lost in the amalgamation with a larger archdiocese with bigger cities. They were respectful and friendly, but clear. The region and its people are tenacious. If you ask for their feedback, they are going to share it.

The Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall held five separate meetings to hear from the unique groups served by these churches, namely anglophone, francophone and bilingual parishioners and the urban and rural communities. I was told that there was no specific consultation with Indigenous peoples, some of whom are practising Catholics. However, I was also told that the truth and reconciliation work is under way.

In fact, I saw reconciliation and, more importantly, relationship building happening first-hand in June 2021 — when we learned of the discovery of children’s remains at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. A temporary memorial was set up on the steps of St. Columban’s Church in Cornwall. I walked with the community, starting on the grounds of that church where the bells rang 215 times. It was a powerful moment on an emotional day, and it was important for the church leadership to partner with the organizer Georgina Lazore. Participating in those difficult conversations and hosting the memorial walk were concrete actions of reconciliation taken by an institution that is reckoning with its obligations.

Three years after those consultations began, the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall and the Archdiocese of Ottawa have become the Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall. Pope Francis made the announcement on May 6, 2020. At that time, the new archdiocese served more than 450,000 Catholics in 132 parishes and missions.

At the time of the announcement, an important step had yet to be taken: a civil merger in Parliament. Here we are, serving Canada in this very unique way by passing this private bill to conclude the amalgamation.

I want to conclude on the topic of my tenacious community — my region which is so proud of its roots. They have been gracious in the time it has taken to process the amalgamation. They have been hopeful, and they will continue to be. They won’t be lost in this merger because they will continue to speak up and be vigilant. They have things to say about their parishes, and that input will make the archdiocese better. The Catholic Church needs communities that speak up. I’m confident that Akwesasne, Cornwall, Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry will do just that. Thank you, honourable senators, for your interest in this bill. Nia:wen.

Absolutely.

Thank you, Senator Coyle, for that question. I am going to lean on Senator Harder, and figure this out — when it goes to committee, hopefully — around how it worked for the United Church of Canada and why it was before the Senate.

This amalgamation needs the Senate for this process, and it really is an amalgamation. The Catholic Church and this archdiocese are taking care to do it this way so that claims remain. They are choosing this process so that the two predecessor corporations are not dissolved. If there are claims, they will continue after the amalgamation.

When I was approached by the archdiocese, they made sure to say that because it is federally incorporated, they needed an act of Parliament to do that. They needed it to be done here, but they were focusing on an amalgamation process. Other dioceses have gone through this process, and there was controversy because of the claims issue, and because the claims would have been affected by the change. This amalgamation is designed to not do that, and to make sure that people have their claims. They are doing it here — in this process — and we will flesh that out, of course, at committee. Thank you.

Would Senator Clement take a question?

Yes.

I see that Bill S-1001 ensures that the amalgamation of these two corporations meets the requirements of the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act. Do you have any guarantees, or would it be possible to get guarantees, that the requirements of the provincial legislation governing the corporation for the diocese, which falls under provincial law, have been met? I am talking about the requirements to comply with the provincial legislation.

I had the opportunity to work with the archdiocese’s lawyer and the Senate’s lawyers to prepare for the discussion that was held in committee. I did not get any official guarantees, but that is certainly a point that was raised, and we would like to confirm it in committee.

Thank you for the question.