SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — The Honourable Stan Kutcher

Honourable senators, I rise today in the spirit of celebration while in reality, like many of you, I’m in a state of heartbreak and denial.

Today, I proudly wear the yellow and blue in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Ukraine and to honour our beloved colleague Senator Stan Kutcher, our chamber’s — and one of Canada’s — most fervent advocate for justice and peace in Ukraine.

A son of Ukrainian refugees, the honourable, formidable and adorable Stan Kutcher is an inspiration to us all. He is a humble and respected leader, a man of integrity and accomplishment, with a background in the humanities and an illustrious career as a world-renowned psychiatrist and expert on youth mental health.

All who know Stan know what a devoted and proud husband, father and grandfather he is. Stan is a softie.

Before joining the Senate, Stan and I knew each other from our shared international work and our deep commitment to our province, its people and its limitless potential.

Honourable colleagues, Stan Kutcher carried his passion for evidence — for pursuing and promoting the truth — with him into the Senate. As a proud Canadian and defender of democracy, freedom and justice here at home, in Ukraine and around the world, Senator Kutcher knows that access to the truth for citizens is of paramount importance to building and maintaining trust in our democracies.

Together, committed to sharing the many truths about climate causes, its impacts and, most importantly, solutions with colleagues throughout our chamber, Stan and I co-founded Senators for Climate Solutions, which has 60 members today.

When the devastating murders of 22 people occurred in 2020 in Nova Scotia, Senator Kutcher and I collaborated with Senator Colin Deacon to push for a full inquiry and to ensure it got to the many truths behind that tragedy, including the act of intimate partner violence that started it off.

During COVID, we worked with our former colleague the Honourable Dan Christmas around my dining room table and in Potlotek First Nation on understanding the truths of the Indigenous moderate livelihood fishery.

Stan worked hard co-creating ScienceUpFirst to counter the problematic and deadly disinformation campaigns on COVID and vaccines. An experienced scholar and clinician, Senator Kutcher has been a fierce defender of the truth about mental illness as it relates to the debate on medical assistance in dying, or MAID.

Promoters of dangerous and destabilizing disinformation here in Canada, in Russia or anywhere in the world have a fierce opponent in Stan Kutcher.

Colleagues, please join me in wishing our beloved Stan a happy and healthy retirement.

Slava Ukraini! Slava Stan!