SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — The Late Honourable Erminie J. Cohen, C.M., O.N.B.
Tributes
April 2, 2019
Honourable senators, I rise today to pay tribute to our former colleague, the Honourable Erminie Cohen, who passed away in February. It is very difficult to summarize all of her many accomplishments and endeavours into just a short statement. Senator Cohen’s impact on her beloved province of New Brunswick cannot be overstated. She was an energetic and vibrant spirit who worked tirelessly on issues of social justice. She used her voice to advocate for those who often do not have a voice in our society — those who suffer from domestic violence and discrimination, Canadians living in poverty and our children. For these reasons, and many more, she will be greatly missed.
Before her service in the Senate, Erminie Cohen was a member of the national and provincial advisory boards for the Status of Women. She was a founding member of the Saint John Women for Action, and Hestia House, a shelter for abused women and children. She was also the first woman in her community to serve as president of a synagogue, and the first woman elected Atlantic Vice-President of the Progressive Conservative Party.
In 1993, Erminie Cohen was appointed to the Senate of Canada upon the recommendation of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. During the eight years that followed, she was a dedicated member of many of our committees, particularly Social Affairs, Science and Technology. In 1997, Senator Cohen authored Sounding the Alarm: Poverty in Canada, a well-received report which I understand was used as a teaching text in some Canadian universities at the time.
Senator Cohen was the recipient of the Order of Canada, the Order of New Brunswick, and the Queen’s Silver, Gold and Diamond Jubilee medals. She was also honoured by such organizations as the Jewish National Fund of Canada, the University of New Brunswick and the Salvation Army.
Despite her many honours, Senator Cohen never forgot the people she was devoted to. She treated all who crossed her path with compassion as she strove to understand their lives and offer them her help.
After her retirement from the Senate, Senator Cohen continued to give her time and effort to improve the lives of her fellow citizens. For example, in 2002, she helped establish the New Brunswick Adoption Foundation, the first such foundation of its kind in Canada. As well, in 2007, she was named the chair of the previous Conservative government’s Expert Panel on Older Workers, which released a report the following year on supporting older workers in the new economy.
In her final words to the Senate upon her retirement, Senator Cohen spoke of her love for her family, particularly her children, Cathy, Shelley and Lee. She said:
I am grateful to them for all their encouragement and understanding and would like them to know, for the record, that any pride that they may feel in my accomplishments is matched by my pride for all of theirs.
On behalf of the Conservative Senate caucus and indeed all honourable senators, I extend deepest condolences to her children and grandson, family and friends at the loss of a truly great Canadian. May her memory be a blessing.
Honourable senators, I am saddened today to rise in tribute to a good friend, the Honourable Senator Erminie Cohen, who passed away in February at the age of 92 years. I regret that we were never colleagues here in this chamber, representing our home province of New Brunswick together. But as things sometimes happen, I arrived here after her retirement, filling the seat that she vacated when she retired from the Senate.
Her professional life before her Senate career was, as you’ve heard from Senator Smith, a litany of achievements. She, along with her late husband, Ed, operated a women’s clothing store in Saint John for more than 50 years.
In social advocacy, she was tenacious. She sat on the first New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women, as well as on the Canadian advisory council. She founded the Saint John Women of Action and a shelter to assist victims of domestic violence.
In 1993 she was called to this place. She was intensely proud to be here. In her maiden speech in the Senate, just one week after she had been appointed to the Senate, she said, “I wish to tell you that I consider my appointment to the Senate a true honour. I treat it with great pride. I make a commitment to work hard for the Senate and to work with each and every one of you.”
And she did. While she considered herself a Red Tory, she found friends and allies on all sides of this chamber. She served on a great number of committees, including the Special Joint Committee on Child Custody and Access. She worked extensively to fight against poverty and family violence. She sponsored legislation that would have prohibited discrimination based on a person’s social condition. She brought a human face to all her work in committees and here in the Senate.
When she retired, the Honourable John Lynch-Staunton, who was leader of the Conservatives in the Senate at that time, called Erminie Cohen “the conscience of the Senate.” Erminie remained true to her own conscience throughout her life, serving others and ensuring that the voices of the least fortunate were heard.
On behalf of the independent Senate Liberals, I would like to offer our deepest condolences to Erminie Cohen’s beloved children, Cathy, Lee, a lawyer in Halifax, and Shelley, to their families, and all her loved ones and friends. She was quite simply a remarkable lady and we are all poorer for her passing.
Honourable senators, today I rise to pay tribute to the late Erminie Cohen, from Saint John, New Brunswick, in my home province. She served in our Senate from 1993 to 2001, appointed by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. She passed away in February 2019 at the age of 92. On behalf of my Independent Senators Group colleagues, I send my deepest and heartfelt sympathy to her family.
Honourable senators, Senator Cohen is someone I deeply admire. As a lifelong advocate for women and social justice, she is one of my “sheroes” — not heroes, “sheroes” — and mentors. I first met Senator Cohen here in Ottawa during the Women’s World March 2000 in October. Thirty thousand women marched on Parliament Hill to end gender-based violence and poverty.
As the New Brunswick co-chair of the Women’s World March 2000, I was so pleased when Senator Cohen sought me out and asked to march and talk with the New Brunswick delegation. Thus began our relationship spanning the next two decades.
Her commitment and enthusiasm to social justice is impressive, including her many accomplishments while a member of the New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women and a founding member of the board of Hestia House for victims of family violence. Her leadership, passion and vision involving many issues such as poverty, legal, family violence and adoption brought about major social changes.
Many of her passions I share, and I look to the work she accomplished as foundational and groundbreaking. Currently, poverty, gender-based violence and inequities are still a large part of the Canadian landscape. Thank you, dear Erminie, for blazing the trail.
While she worked on these key issues she was also a business partner with her husband, a mother, grandmother and member of her faith community. She remained active on many fronts into her nineties. Her passion often motivated others in her community.
She was honoured for her contributions through receiving both the Order of Canada, 2010, and the Order of New Brunswick, 2017. In addition, she received other prestigious awards for her contributions. The last time I saw Erminie was in 2017, in Fredericton, when she received the Order of New Brunswick. Her smile, her passion and her enthusiasm for social justice will always remain in my memory as I honour this great Canadian woman.
On behalf of the Independent Senators Group, I wish to honour former Senator Erminie Cohen for being a catalyst in making her home province of New Brunswick, and indeed Canada, a fairer and more just place for the most vulnerable among us.
Rest in peace, dear Erminie.
