SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — Tributes
The Honourable Judith G. Seidman
June 19, 2025
Honourable senators, the recruitment for the opposition caucus is going so well that some thought we should start paying tribute to senators who are retiring three months from now.
In all seriousness, the Senate is about to receive a major blow. This September, we’ll be losing a very valuable element in this chamber, one that is respected by all.
Senator Seidman, who was appointed in August 2009, just a few months after me — we have gone through this long walk, sometimes through the desert, sometimes through the forest — retires September 1, 2025. She was an epidemiologist, an age-related health care researcher and social service adviser, and prior to her appointment to the Senate, she was an active health care research professional at McGill University network in Quebec. She holds a number of degrees, and I won’t necessarily list all of them because I don’t have enough time.
She served on a number boards: the McGill Society of Montreal, the Education Task Force of the McGill Centre for Studies in Aging and the Evaluation Committee for Community Health Research Program of Montreal. The list of all her successes and accolades before coming to this place goes on and on.
Honourable colleagues, she came here and for almost two decades has greatly distinguished herself. She has served on a number of committees. That list is also too long to review. She has served on almost every committee in this chamber. She distinguished herself in how she conducted herself as Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Ethics and Conflict of Interest for Senators, or CONF. We all know how sensitive it is to uphold the integrity of this institution, and she has done that as she has done everything else: with the highest degree of integrity for this institution and for every senator.
She also distinguished herself particularly — looking back, I was always torn on this issue, but whenever there were tough issues, she never ran away — in the debate on physician-assisted dying, which was a heart-wrenching and tough debate. It wasn’t political; it was about humans and life, and that’s where I thought you really shone. You took on that issue, spoke from the heart and really identified the problem in many ways.
She is an ardent defender of minority language rights for the English community in Quebec and for the French community outside of Quebec, which she holds true to her heart. She has also always done that with a great degree of integrity. Regardless of government or political stripes, she has always been consistent: that is who the Honourable Senator Judith Seidman is.
She also published a book along with former senator Serge Joyal. It was the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Senate, and the book was entitled, Reflecting on Our Past and Embracing Our Future. I invite you all to obtain a copy. It was a great work about the institution.
More importantly, to me, Senator Seidman is far more than just an accomplished public figure, great senator and colleague. She has been a friend, confidante and adviser to me. When I use the term “friend,” I highlight it in bold, because we all know that in political and public life, there are peaks and valleys, high moments and low moments. I can tell you who Judith Seidman is: When you’re down and out, the first call you receive will be from her. The phone will ring, and she will say, “How are you doing, and what can I do for you?” That’s how I remember Senator Seidman, and there are many stories like that throughout this institution.
Above all else, she deeply loves her family. I know they are up in the gallery. Jessica and, of course, Zac: your mom talks about you all the time and she shines.
Yes, Steve, she talks about you a little bit as well.
But the truth of the matter is that, Jessica, you are the peach of her eyes, and, Zac, you are her life.
Congratulations, Judith. We’re going to miss you deeply. The whole institution will miss you. We wish you the best in all your future endeavours.
Honourable senators, it’s a great pleasure — but a poignant one — to rise today on behalf of the Government Representative Office to pay tribute to Senator Judith Seidman, a fellow Montrealer who is a dear friend to so many of us in this chamber, including me personally and my wife Nancy.
Judith, before you joined the Senate — as Leo pointed out — you dedicated yourself to bettering the lives of Montrealers and Canadians in your professional capacity as an epidemiologist, as a researcher focused on age-related health issues and as an adviser in the area of social services.
Here — again as Leo mentioned — you continued your work, strongly advocating on behalf of social and health issues. I have always admired your foresight and expertise. I remember — and I have mentioned it more recently — your important work on the risks of vaping. It has been invaluable in informing the work of the Senate and Canadians generally.
Again, it is worth underlining your important work on the Special Joint Committee on Physician-Assisted Dying, which laid the groundwork for the development of the framework for medical assistance in dying.
I won’t try to list all the work you’ve done on committees, but your work on the Standing Committee on Ethics and Conflict of Interest for Senators is exceptionally important. With great honour and integrity, you discharged your role there, and I can’t think of anybody more suited for that role than you.
I also can’t conclude this without highlighting your devotion to our hometown of Montreal and our province of Quebec. It was evident from the very first time you spoke in this chamber when you paid tribute to the 14 women who were killed at École Polytechnique. You focused efforts and you focused our attention on how to prevent such tragic events in the future, and I know you will continue to give back to your community.
On a personal note, you were one of the first people I met during my first week as a senator at the Château Laurier across the street with our former colleague Nancy Greene Raine. You, Nancy and I became close friends early on, and we shared more than one drink at the Château Laurier. We have remained friends, and that has been really important. You have been somebody whom I have relied upon when I needed to vent a little bit. I hope that I’ve been and will continue to be there for you even as we both leave this place.
Once again, on behalf of the Government Representative Office, happy retirement. Enjoy your time with your family, friends, loved ones and all who love and respect you. Thank you, Judith.
Honourable senators, today, we are paying tribute to the Honourable Senator Judith Seidman, one of our most distinguished colleagues, renowned for her expertise, her qualities and her dedication. Judith has served in the Senate for 16 years, during which time she has been an active and influential member of this chamber. Her achievements are many.
Her expertise is impressive, because of the depth of her knowledge in fields such as social sciences, health, ethics and professional conduct, and because of her extensive experience as an academic and researcher. Her work made a mark and is still quoted by many scientists, both here and abroad, including at our Senate committee meetings.
Her considerable expertise made our colleague Judith the go-to authority for the Senate and its committees. When examining several complex, not to mention controversial, bills, senators eagerly awaited and listened to Senator Seidman’s opinions. When examining such legislation, we want to hear informed, diligent and empathetic voices, enlightening voices that rise above the fray and shun disinformation. We also want to hear courageous voices, because sometimes they share opinions that others may not necessarily want to hear. For almost 16 years now, our colleague Judith’s voice has been one of the strongest.
For several years now, I’ve had the privilege of working with Senator Seidman on the Subcommittee on Human Resources — which is a subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration — where I’m the chair and she was the deputy chair. As everyone would expect, Judith devoted herself to this task with the rigour, concern for fairness, strict respect for confidentiality and good judgment that characterize her. I’ll make a confession: She had such mastery of her files that I often had to read and reread the documentation. I wouldn’t want to be caught out for not seeing a trap or an inconsistency that she would have easily identified.
For me — and I believe for all members of the subcommittee — she is a source of emulation, so much so that I’ve always considered her to be the subcommittee’s co-chair.
Judith, I thank you also on behalf of the other members of the subcommittee. Co-chair, I’m going to miss you. Your credibility is such that you had our collective confidence to serve on the Senate Standing Committee on Ethics and Conflict of Interest for Senators. We knew we could count on your understanding of the institution, the role of senators and our code of ethics. More importantly, we knew you would never violate the obligations of reserve and confidentiality that are the basis of our trust in the members of this committee.
Senator Seidman, dear Judith, our time in this chamber is limited. You have made yours count.
Dear Judith, as you return to Montreal, the city that you are so proud to live in, I want to say thank you and congratulations. On behalf of all members of the Independent Senators Group, I also want to express our admiration and appreciation for you and to wish you all the best.
Honourable senators, as we move closer and closer toward summer adjournment, the remaining sitting days for our colleague Senator Judith Seidman can now be counted on just one hand. It is bittersweet that we will be forced to wave goodbye to her as soon as she departs this chamber, and the Senate will not be the same without her.
She arrived in the Senate in 2009, along with eight other senators who — and those who were around then would likely agree — projected an extraordinarily strong affinity for one political party. Within this cohort was Senator Seidman, who valued careful study, insisted on objective and quantitative data and worked for bipartisan cooperation.
If you want proof of her ability to reach out across the floor, you can look at the aforementioned book that she edited with Senator Joyal entitled Reflecting on Our Past and Embracing Our Future: A Senate Initiative for Canada. Imagine that: A Liberal and a Conservative working together on a common project. It truly is something beautiful.
For those interested, by the way, the book is now on sale for 30% off on Amazon.
With the Senate discount.
Yes, with the Senate discount.
Another example is when Senator Seidman participated with me and a few others in the now-famous Greene-Massicotte meetings on Senate reform and modernization. I remember well those meetings where our attendance was categorized as sedition in some corners. Nonetheless, Judith was there as an active participant to seek improvements and change for the betterment of this institution.
In Senator Seidman, the Senate received a tireless proponent and warrior for access to health care, controls on tobacco and vaping and equality for minority-language services in her province.
When she was appointed, The Canadian Jewish News said that she was “[l]ittle-known outside the party and her professional engagements . . . .” That has certainly changed. Today, everyone who knows anything about the Senate also knows about Senator Judith Seidman. From the very beginning, she brought to this chamber her unique blend of academic rigour, compassion and common sense. When she spoke, we stopped and listened because we knew that she would contribute sage wisdom and vigour in our debates. She was never afraid to ask difficult questions or to stand firmly on principle.
We also recognize her work on both the Social Affairs Committee and the Ethics and Conflict of Interest for Senators Committee. I think it is a sign of the utmost respect that we have for you, Judith, as we trusted you with the chairmanship as well as your colleagues on the committee in whom we put all of our trust and our collective reputation. Thank you for the work that you did on that committee. In all your committee work, many, many studies had to undergo the “Seidman test” for sound conclusions, good data and logical arguments and recommendations.
You leave behind a legacy that reflects intelligence, integrity and an unwavering commitment to public health and democratic values.
On behalf of your colleagues in the Canadian Senators Group, you will be missed, and we wish you a wonderful retirement.
Honourable senators, it is my pleasure to rise on behalf of the Progressive Senate Group, or PSG, to pay tribute to the Honourable Judith Seidman.
Nearing the end of a very busy and productive week, it’s nice to have an opportunity to pause for a moment to celebrate and reflect on the busy and productive Senate career that our colleague has had.
Having served in this place for over 15 years now, Senator Seidman has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to public service.
Through initiatives like Science Meets Parliament and Women in House; sponsoring legislation like Vanessa’s Law; her dedication to important issues like our long-term care system and aging in place; raising concerns about regulations around vaping; and her work on the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology for most of her time in the Senate, Senator Seidman has been a devoted advocate for health and social issues.
Through her service throughout the years on the Standing Senate Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration and in her current role as Chair of the Committee on Ethics and Conflict of Interest for Senators, she has equally demonstrated a commitment to the administrative functioning of this institution and helping us ensure that we are always seeking to achieve the highest levels of integrity and accountability in both our work and our operations.
I would also like to highlight her important contributions to one of the most ethically complex issues of our time, medical assistance in dying. In 2016, Senator Seidman served as one of the Senate members on the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying. This experience certainly helped shape her participation in the debates on both Bill C-14 and Bill C-7. Although I was only here for Bill C-7, it was certainly helpful to hear the contributions of those who had worked so hard on Bill C-14. During these times of profound reflection and legal transformation, she brought clarity, compassion and focus to this complex and personal topic.
Senator Seidman, you leave behind a legacy of thoughtful engagement and a deep respect for the responsibilities entrusted to us as senators.
On behalf of the Progressive Senate Group, thank you for your service and your many contributions. We wish you the very best in the years to come.
Wela’lin, thank you.
