Honourable senators, isn’t it amazing how artists capture us — how they capture the world? We need art. We need the beauty, the truth and the points of view that are reflected back to us. Art is everywhere; it surrounds us, and sometimes we somehow manage to miss it. Art defines us and shapes us — it helps to shape what we do here, and it defines and influences debate on public policy and government. The importance of art in public discourse is too often minimalized or taken for granted.

Artists sometimes need champions — those who know their value and advocate tirelessly on their behalf. Senator Bovey has been one of those champions. Throughout the entirety of her career as an art historian, museologist, gallery director, professor and arts consultant, she has spent a lifetime working on behalf of Canadian artists in her home province of Manitoba, across Canada and throughout the world.

This continued with her appointment to the Senate of Canada in 2016. As a senator, she made it a focus to promote, celebrate and protect Canadian artists. This included introducing bills such as Bill S-208 and Bill S-202, as well as bringing Canadian art within the walls of the Senate of Canada building. Most notably, she curated the first ever installation of works by Black Canadian artists to be displayed in the Senate of Canada. She’s also been a tireless promoter of Indigenous artists and protecting their livelihoods from the counterfeit trade.

Colleagues, Senator Bovey has been a strong voice for Manitobans in Ottawa, and has been an invaluable member of our group. As we — the Progressive Senate Group, or PSG — were finding our footing as a new group, Senator Bovey was the first to decide to join our small but mighty group. In many ways, her optimism was a big part of the early and continued success of the Progressive Senate Group.

I, for one, have appreciated being able to lean on her and bounce ideas off her — always assured that I would receive her honest, measured thoughts. I will miss our dinners together where we had many discussions and many laughs, and solved many problems.

As you take your retirement from this place, you can take comfort knowing that you have served your province and Canadians well. You have been a wonderful colleague. We will miss your presence in the Senate.

You are so deserving of this time with your family, particularly your grandchildren, and they are deserving of the energy and time that you have so generously shared with us over the past seven years. Knowing you, I imagine that your days will remain as full as ever, promoting and championing Canadian art, artists and the Senate.

I hope that you will also allow yourself some time to rest. Enjoy this fresh canvas for this fresh new adventure. I wish you the very best.

Hugs!

Honourable senators, I also rise today to pay tribute to our colleague, my friend from my wonderful province, the province of Manitoba, Senator Patricia Bovey.

Senator Bovey, as has already been mentioned, was the first art historian and museologist appointed to the Senate of Canada. I embarrassingly had to look up what a museologist is, but now I know. Her lens for art and culture made her a natural fit to become the chair of the Senate Artwork and Heritage Advisory Working Group. Senator Bovey had a personal goal of ensuring that the voices of art and culture be heard, and she has worked diligently towards that goal.

Senator Bovey, I believe everyone in this chamber will agree to at least one thing: The Senate has certainly become a more enjoyable and visual experience since your presence here. Your passion for art has not only made its way to the walls of our buildings or been featured on a Senate website but has also succeeded in creating an impact in our hearts and collective culture. Your passion and the many initiatives you have taken on to showcase Canadian galleries and museums, such as the museums at the Senate, will forever stay with us.

Senator Bovey — Pat — I will miss our discussions that we had at the Winnipeg airport and other places about a mutual passion that we have, and that is our grandchildren. So many times you have shared your experiences with your grandchildren overseas and I with my grandchildren here. Senator Bovey, I will miss having those chats. I will miss being on the airplane because many times we were on the same side of the aisle, and that was a pleasure.

On behalf of the Conservative caucus, I wish you a happy and fruitful retirement. I hope it is your greatest creation. Knowing you, I know it will be a beautiful work of art.

God bless you. Enjoy your retirement, and enjoy your grandchildren.

I rise today to pay tribute to an esteemed colleague and an inspiring woman with whom I’ve had the pleasure of serving since I arrived in the Senate. We were sworn in in this chamber just a few days apart, so this is a very special and personal moment for me.

I had the opportunity to get to know Senator Bovey in the three committees that we served on together: Transport and Communications, Foreign Affairs and Internal Economy, or CIBA. In all these instances, I was truly able to witness the excellence of Senator Bovey. At the CIBA Subcommittee on Human Resources particularly — and more recently — we tackled some delicate and important issues, and I can attest that no matter the subject or the situation at hand, she always acted with the respect and courtesy that characterize her so well. Patricia, I think I can speak for all the members of the subcommittee when I say your contribution and wisdom will be sorely missed.

I also have fond memories of working alongside you at the Foreign Affairs Committee, where you acted as the driving force during our extensive study of cultural diplomacy. We spoke to it yesterday, and I want to pay tribute to you on this as well. This important study is yet another example of the quality and vision of our studies here at the Senate and a feather in the committee’s cap. It positioned Canada’s culture on the international stage and gave guidelines in order to promote it and use it to our advantage.

As you said recently in reflecting on this Foreign Affairs Committee study:

Culture portrays who we are — our national values, roots and diversities. Conveying Canadian messages and realities abroad, culture tells others what Canada is, where we come from and our courage in where we’re going.

Senator Bovey, you can be proud of the role you played in conveying these messages. You truly are a great ambassador for Canada, our artists and, broadly, for our culture.

If I had to describe Senator Bovey in three words, I would use “artist” — the easy one — “manager” and “educator.” She is someone with a strong sense of good governance, vast knowledge and impeccable artistic taste, all of which has enriched the Senate of Canada. Notably, your numerous initiatives to promote Canadian artists in the Senate will be part of your long-lasting legacy.

As I have said before, Senator Bovey, with the commitment and enthusiasm you bring to the causes you believe in, you are truly inspiring. You will soon reach the age of mandatory senatorial retirement, but your character and dedication guarantees an active and busy time in your post-Senate life. I know you will continue to serve Canadians in a different manner.

In my name and in the name of all the members of the Independent Senators Group, I wish you, the Honourable Patricia Bovey, many happy and still active years to come.

Thank you.

Honourable senators, I, too, rise to pay tribute to the first art historian to be appointed to the Senate of Canada. It’s never easy to take on the mantle as the first of anything. Senator Bovey has brought art into many aspects of the Senate, whether through her bill, An Act respecting the Declaration on the Essential Role of Artists and Creative Expression in Canada — which passed in the Senate — or in the art showings she has organized throughout the precinct. The Senate’s appreciation for art will forever be changed by her advocacy.

However, I got to know Senator Bovey on a different level when she was the deputy chair of the Special Committee on the Arctic, which I was privileged to chair. Through that committee, I got to see first-hand the passion that Senator Bovey has for Canada’s Arctic. I saw how eager she was to learn about the lived experiences of northerners and how hard she worked to help address the many issues facing the North.

At the time, there was only one senator appointed for the entire Arctic — our colleagues Senators Anderson and Duncan had yet to be appointed — so finding Senator Bovey, who was such a willing and capable ally, was a refreshing and major relief. We travelled together throughout the Arctic, and that brings with it a special bond.

Northern Lights: A wake-up call for the future of Canada was the report we produced, and it brought forward one key recommendation above all recommendations: that decisions about the North be for the North and by the North. This shows that passion I spoke of earlier. She joined me as we insisted that this recommendation be written several times throughout the report and that it be central to the media messaging.

We heard witnesses in Ottawa, and we travelled across the North. I remember flying all the way to Nain only to be fogged in at the last minute. We wrote the report in 18 short months, and may I add that we assembled our report at the same time as our government was working on its new Arctic policy framework to guide Arctic policy until 2030. Many respected observers noted that our report was a welcome — and dare I say even better — comprehensive, focused and forward-looking contribution to Arctic policy development.

Senator Bovey, we will miss your calm, measured voice, your fierce advocacy and your friendship, and I know you will continue to be an eloquent advocate for the arts in everything you do. We look forward to hearing about your next chapter. You and I will keep in touch on a goal we share — progress on the creation of a Nunavut heritage centre. We’ll make sure you come back to Nunavut, where I know a big part of your heart is, but I am really happy you will now be able to enjoy extra time with your family and beloved grandchildren, whom I know you love so much. Qujannamiik. Thank you. Taima.

Honourable senators, I rise today to pay tribute to our remarkable colleague Senator Patricia Bovey. The extent of Senator Bovey’s passion for advancing the arts and advocating for social justice issues is matched only by her generous heart. Senator Bovey has devoted her life to championing the arts, having had a long career in the visual arts as a curator and director of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, a board member of the Canada Council for the Arts, art historian, professor, author and, for many years, a management consultant in the arts and not-for-profit sector.

Senator Bovey has been a dynamic presence in the Senate since her appointment in 2016. In addition to the arts, her work has included a focus on Canada’s Arctic, oceans and fisheries and Indigenous and foreign affairs. As acting Senate Speaker, she represented the Speaker at international meetings. As a member of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, she initiated the Cultural Diplomacy at the Front Stage of Canada’s Foreign Policy study. She also served as a deputy chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications and the Special Senate Committee on the Arctic. Fittingly, she chaired the Senate’s Artwork and Heritage Advisory Working Group, which installed the first works of Black Canadian artists in the Senate of Canada since 1867.

She served as an executive member of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology and as a member of the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages and the Standing Senate Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament.

Senator Bovey sponsored bills to expand marine protected areas, establish a parliamentary visual artist laureate and highlight the essential role of artists. She has been a valuable and energetic member of the Progressive Senate Group since 2020, having served as a liaison.

I trust I speak for all of us, colleagues, when I say that Senator Bovey has been a beacon of inspiration for all those who have had the privilege of working with her. As she steps down from her position in the Senate, we can all take comfort in the knowledge that Senator Bovey’s legacy will endure, and we look forward to her continuing contributions to Canada.

Thank you. Hiy kitatamihin.

Honourable senators, I rise today to pay tribute to my friend Senator Bovey.

I had the pleasure of getting to know Senator Bovey through the Artwork and Heritage Advisory Working Group. This working group has become a vibrant group under her leadership and is a testament to Senator Bovey’s commitment to the arts in Canada. This is quite a feat, as our meetings are sporadic and often fall during busy weeks, when we are all tired, stressed and struggling to find time to complete all of our work.

In spite of this, Senator Bovey chairs our meetings with energy and joy, enthusiastically sharing updates on upcoming art installations in the Senate, artists who have agreed to loan us their art and possible collaborations to showcase important issues that have been raised by fellow senators. Even the Senate building itself is a representation to her outstanding commitment and determination. Artworks by Canadian artists grace every possible nook and cranny, offering visibility for their work and often sparking discussions among senators, staff and guests. What I am trying to say is that Senator Bovey is the heart and soul of the Artwork and Heritage Advisory Working Group, and I will miss you greatly.

Senator Bovey, thank you for bringing Canadian artists and their work to the Senate of Canada. I wish you well as you retire and move on to new challenges.

Honourable senators, I rise today to pay tribute to Senator Patricia Bovey as she retires. In November 2016, I had the great pleasure of first meeting her when we were sworn into the Red Chamber on the same day, along with Senators Woo, Boniface, Cormier and Pate. We were all new, finding our way together and creating an incredible bond.

Patricia and I were seatmates in the early days. She was the queen of the arts with a great, big heart and lots and lots of energy. She has an incredible sense of humour with a unique laugh, and I have seen her kindness to many in this place. As a senator, she has exceptionally served on many committees, acted as Speaker pro tempore, travelling and representing the Senate both nationally and internationally. She has raised the profile of arts and culture and their importance.

Today, many of us will tell you about her accomplishments in the Red Chamber, but I would also like to share a bit more about the Pat that I have come to know and some of the things that are unique to her character.

Pat was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, later moving to Ottawa. She is the middle child with two brothers. Her parents supported and encouraged her endeavours. She was an avid piano player, teaching lessons, and perhaps could have made it her vocation. She loved skating in the winter, and she still seems to be skating as she walks briskly with purpose in her high heels. She was in a band and played the steel drums. This might be something, Pat, you could do in retirement.

Pat studied at several universities in art history, music history, and her passion grew in the arts. She has published over a dozen books, including her latest one, Western Voices in Canadian Art.

Pat and her husband, John Bovey, settled in Victoria, B.C., raising their two daughters. Sadly, John Bovey passed away in 2005. She later married the Honourable John Harvard, and they had many happy years together until he too passed away, in 2016. Pat told me how lucky she was to have had two very special Johns in her life.

Her daughters and their families, including her four grandchildren, now live in London, England. She loves spending time with them. We are pleased that her family is here with us today.

Pat performed many important roles in her life, including curator, director of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, adjunct professor in art history, author and senator. Many of us call her our friend and colleague, but I want to share how her Senate staff member Christine Sentongo-Andersen described Senator Bovey:

She is a breath of fresh air who is extremely positive and always looking for a solution, rather than complaining about the current situation. It was like I had written down all the things I wanted in a Senator and the paper had flown up the chimney and she appeared floating down with an umbrella. She was like Mary Poppins while supporting me to realize my goals.

After she told me that, folks, this image has stuck in my head, and I see Pat with her umbrella, singing Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious with joy and laughter.

Many of us acknowledge her as a hard-working and dedicated person with a passion for art and culture. She believes that art is a universal language and the arts certainly are a lever for social and cultural change. Art tells stories of the past, present and future through images, words, movement and music. Let’s honour Pat’s legacy by promoting her vision and dreams.

We will miss you, Pat, and we thank you for your incredible contribution, but I know that this isn’t the end of your story. There is a next chapter waiting to be written. Thank you.

Honourable senators, I rise today to recognize the service of my colleague from Manitoba the Honourable Pat Bovey. Senator Bovey was one of the first people to reach out and welcome me to this chamber when my appointment was announced last year.

But, dear colleagues, while you may know her as a distinguished senator or author or art historian, I must inform you that there are some aspects of her life that have been omitted from her official biography, and I feel obliged to share them with you today.

For example, did you know that she is a marriage commissioner? In September 2020, it was the Honourable Pat Bovey who officiated the marriage between my aunt Sally Osler and her now-husband, Donald Benham. Furthermore, it was then that Senator Bovey revealed that were it not for a twist of fate, she could have been a star on the dance stage. In her speech at the wedding, Senator Bovey told us that her parents had been good friends with my aunt’s parents. Both mothers enrolled them in a ballroom dancing class with a teacher whom we will call Mrs. Wendt. Senator Bovey told the congregation:

The fall session was great. We had fun, sort of. I remember eating an awful lot of doughnuts. It was such a success that the parents decided in January there would be another term of ballroom dancing. Two weeks into the second session of these ballroom dancing lessons, Mrs. Wendt didn’t turn up. Mrs. Wendt went with all the money that our parents had paid for the second session.

And so, Senator Bovey’s dance career went out the door with Mrs. Wendt, and we can only wonder what could have been.

Undeterred, she went on to become the director of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and then the director of the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

She has sat on more than a dozen boards, including the National Gallery of Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts.

She chaired the University of Manitoba’s board of governors.

Since her Senate appointment in November 2016, she proposed two pieces of legislation, and initiated a dialogue on the value of Canadian art to society and culture.

She chaired the Senate’s Artwork and Heritage Advisory Working Group, and oversaw the installation of the Senate’s first art display to honour Black artists.

Despite the demands of her busy schedule, she wrote and published two books on Canadian artists — all while fitting in visits with her beloved children and grandchildren.

Senator Bovey may be retiring from this chamber today, but I know that she will continue to be a powerful force.

On behalf of the people of Manitoba, I thank Senator Bovey for her work and dedication.

Meegwetch.

Honourable senators, I must say that it is difficult to speak after these last two speeches, in particular; I know that we are near the end. It is actually with a heavy heart that I rise today to pay tribute to the Honourable Senator Bovey.

Senator Bovey and I were appointed to the Senate at the same time. All along, I have appreciated her unwavering support, her dedication to issues of equity and inclusion, her allyship and, most importantly, her friendship.

As grandmothers and seatmates, we have developed an even stronger bond, sharing stories and, yes, laughter. Her sense of humour is infectious. Her dedication to the arts and her leadership have brought more of an appreciation for diversity in art to this place. I have also learned much about the politics of the art world — and there she is laughing.

In honour of her retirement, I am going to recite a poem written by our mutual friend, the former parliamentary poet laureate George Elliott Clarke — Africadian artist extraordinaire. I pray I do justice to it:

A Portrait of Hon. Patricia Bovey, Senator

Senator Bovey is poised to retire

From this Red Chamber, site of les beaux-arts

Des débats. So, let Yousuf Karsh inspire

This sketch — the chiaroscuro of a star!

Her eye is keen — a Claire Weissman Wilks lens:

Perspective upon perspective aligns —

Accurate with what perception contends,

Spot on with what examination finds.

Like Emily Carr, she is totemic —

As blunt as black, as plain as white; and though

Never purple in sculpted polemic,

Always takes she first place: “The Best in Show.”

She scrutinizes every “masterpiece”

Of legislation; “takes the big picture”:

To tease technique from technicalities,

To tell cracks from fine lines and craquelure.

When the Honourable Senator leaves

This Chamber, practically her second home,

I will be just one of her peers who grieves,

Or faints, succumbing to Stendhal Syndrome —

Astonished by art without an equal,

Enthralled by an artist without sequel.

Senator Bovey, we wish you the very best as you move on to your next chapter.

Honourable senators, I rise today to join my voice to the chorus of voices singing the praises, sharing the joy and selfishly lamenting the retirement of our beloved colleague, and my good friend, the Honourable — and unstoppable — Senator Patricia Bovey.

The first art historian and museologist to be appointed to the Senate of Canada, it should be no surprise that Senator Bovey articulated her goal in joining this august chamber in 2016:

. . . to ensure the voice of arts and culture is heard, in the Senate as well as in every sector of society.

Senator Bovey, your mission has been accomplished both in French and in English.

The voices of arts and culture, as well as the recognition of their significance, their impact and their potential, have permeated everything you undertook and achieved here in your deep, diverse and beautiful senatorial œuvre.

From your leadership work on the Arctic, cultural diplomacy, autonomous vehicles, Indigenous art, the parliamentary visual artist laureate, climate and our Senate collection and exhibits, you have opened us up to exactly what you said in your first speech delivered on December 6, 2016, in this chamber:

Artists from all cultures and from all over the world have given us an understanding of our past and our present through the three international languages of dance, music, and the visual arts. The visual arts are transformational and help us understand our local, regional and national communities. . . . they serve as bridges in our society.

You continued:

The arts are letting the world know who Canadians are, where we are and what we value . . . .

In your speech, you concluded:

The arts are not frills; they are the essence of who we are. We ignore their expressions at our peril.

Well, Senator Bovey, no matter where you were situated — whether it was with us in the Independent Senators Group, over in the Progressive Senate Group, sitting in the Speaker’s chair, around the committee table, travelling with the Arctic Committee, representing Canada abroad, attending COP 27 in Egypt with Senator Galvez and me, or back home in Manitoba — you always helped us appreciate the multi-faceted importance of the arts.

Senator Bovey — Patricia, Pat — as you leave us to pursue your next exciting chapter, and to enjoy time with your lovely daughters, your dear grandchildren, your brothers and your friends, I hope you know how much you are admired for all of your hard work — and how beloved you are as our dear friend and colleague.

Pat, just as art does, you have touched our hearts, our minds and our spirits. Go well, my friend. You will be sorely missed.