SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — Her Excellency Mary Robinson
Former President of Ireland
November 4, 2026
Honourable senators, I wish to extend my sincere thanks to the Speaker, the Honourable Raymonde Gagné, for the warm welcome extended to our very distinguished guest, Mary Robinson.
On behalf of all honourable senators and members of Senators for Climate Solutions, I am delighted and deeply honoured to be co-hosting Mrs. Robinson’s visit to Canada, along with co-chair Senator Tracy Muggli.
Mary Robinson — or “Maryben,” as we call each other — and I are connected through the remarkable Self Employed Women’s Association of India, an association of 3.7 million women who are informal sector workers across that country.
Honourable colleagues, Mary Robinson must have many scars on her scalp due to all those glass ceilings she has shattered over the course of her illustrious career.
A true stateswoman, Mary Robinson was Ireland’s first woman president, serving from 1990 to 1997, where she was known for championing women’s and LGBTQ+ rights.
She served in the Irish Senate for 20 years.
Mary Robinson served the world as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy in three roles: on climate change in the lead-up to the Paris Agreement, on El Niño and climate, and for the Great Lakes Region of Africa.
Mary is a founding member of The Elders, a group of senior public leaders working together for peace, justice, human rights and a sustainable planet. It was founded by Nelson Mandela.
Her numerous honours include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, presented by President Barack Obama.
This afternoon at 4:30, please join us at the National Arts Centre’s O’Born Room to participate in an exclusive conversation for parliamentarians with Mary Robinson.
Here it is: the day after the exciting U.S. midterm elections, a week after the EU-Canada summit and a day before our government tables Budget 2026.
Mary will provide opening remarks this afternoon about how to ensure that climate remains a priority on the government’s agenda. This event will be co-hosted by the Canadian Climate Institute and the Pearson Centre.
Also, please come to the GreenPAC Breakfast on the Hill tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. at the Château Laurier hotel, where Mary will be delivering the keynote address.
Honourable senators, please join me in welcoming Mary Robinson to Canada, and expressing our sincere gratitude to her for taking the time to be here with us as we seek, as Canadians, the right green energy transition pathway for our country in this time of significant geopolitical upheaval, and, as of last night, a time of hope and promise.
[Editor’s Note: Senator spoke in Gaelic.]
Thank you. Wela’lioq.
Honourable senators, I also rise to join Senator Coyle in welcoming the former president of Ireland Mary Robinson to the Senate of Canada.
As Senator Coyle mentioned, former President Robinson has had an extraordinary career in public service.
She has become one of the world’s leading voices on climate justice and brings decades of experience of working with organizations and countries that have developed practical and meaningful climate initiatives and policies.
I am so energized by her focus on the most vulnerable to climate change and strongly endorse her work to create space for those voices.
We spent much of this beautiful, sunny morning at Carleton University with faculty, students and young leaders, including members of the Canadian Youth Climate Assembly. We had an inspiring and thought-provoking question-and-answer session led by Diego Arreola Fernandez, a parliamentary intern with Environmental Leadership Canada.
The discussions centred on some of the important work that was accomplished when the global community worked together in the past, such as the healing of the ozone layer — one of the planetary boundaries.
It also focused on the daunting tasks that lie ahead in creating solutions and adaptation, now that we have reached the tipping point of 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming, which has led to irreversible damage to glaciers, snowpacks, oceans and coastal communities, and will influence the increasing intensity and frequency of climate-related events if further warming is not prevented.
Through Project Dandelion, a global campaign she co-founded, she is assembling women climate leaders and building connections to tackle complex climate challenges.
In this vein, she was elected to lead the governing bodies of the Global Green Growth Institute. GGGI is an organization that works with countries around the world, particularly in the Global South, to support cleaner, more sustainable economic growth.
I should also note that President Robinson has been calling for stronger international oversight of artificial intelligence, which is particularly timely and important today.
As a co-chair of Senators for Climate Solutions, I am pleased to join Senator Coyle in welcoming President Robinson, a self-proclaimed “prisoner of hope,” to the Senate of Canada. Thank you, President Robinson, for your continued leadership and public service.
Thank you, meegwetch, marsee.
