SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — Newfoundland and Labrador

Honourable senators, today I am pleased to present Chapter 98 of “Telling Our Story.”

You have heard me say on numerous occasions how special my home province is, but sometimes it is not what I or my Newfoundland and Labrador colleagues say that matters; it is much more important to hear what others have to say about us.

Many of you have had the privilege to visit our most easterly province, and I trust you have fond memories of doing so. To those of you who have not made a visit, I will continue to encourage you to do so.

Today, I want to pass on to you what others who have experienced the beauty and hospitality of Newfoundland and Labrador had to say about their time there.

Stacey Lastoe, a CNN senior editor from New York City, said that she enjoyed a pint in downtown St. John’s with some of the nicest people she’d ever met. She went on to say, “Newfoundlanders are a happy, welcoming bunch, and I can’t wait to go back.”

Dr. Adrian Meyer and his wife, Inge, from Zürich, Switzerland, said that Newfoundland “. . . is unique, impressive and has the most lovable inhabitants.” They continued, saying:

We were welcomed and received as if we had always been members of their community. Where else in the world does this happen?

They also said, “We have become Newfoundland and Labrador’s passionate ambassadors in Switzerland.”

Mahmaed AlTaani and his family moved to Newfoundland from Syria after surviving a crowded refugee camp in Jordan. He told a local paper a heartwarming story about how he and his family were welcomed in Newfoundland and about his children being warmly included and making new friends in the local school. They felt safe and secure.

Kathie Schairbaum Erwin and her husband from the United States were travelling throughout Newfoundland in a fifth wheel when her husband had a severe health issue and ended up in hospital for several months. She had this to say:

In the U.S.A., we have to remind ourselves to pay it forward, to be kind to others, et cetera. But here in Newfoundland, it’s a natural part of the culture. It’s as automatic as it is to breathe. The province is a special place that is hard to describe to our friends in the U.S.A.

The famous actor Robert Redford made the following comment:

Newfoundland: A landscape not commonly found, where green roofs are abundant and roads less travelled. A special place, with a feeling of new discovery. I’ve often heard it said by some, that the meaningful connection to a sense of place is lost so, “I’m heading for Newfoundland.”

Gail Murray of Toronto fell in love with Newfoundland and summed it up after her visit by saying:

What stays with me as much as the rugged beauty of Newfoundland is the fortitude and resilience of a people who have honed their artistic talents, kept alive cherished traditions of those long-ago Irish settlers and learned to balance the new with the old and finding a way to live in an untamed land.

You may all recall the Titan tragedy from 2023, when the OceanGate semi-submersible was lost as it tried to journey to the site of the Titanic. International news media outlets from around the world descended on St. John’s.

One of the world’s most famous news anchors, Anderson Cooper of CNN, was one of those who arrived on our shores at the time.

As he was concluding several days of covering the story and was preparing to leave, he had this to say:

. . . I just want to thank the people of St. John’s, who have welcomed us here and helped us in our work for the past few days and all week. I’ve travelled all over the world, but I’ve rarely ever met such kind and decent and concerned people as I have in just the last few days here in St. John’s.

Colleagues, I could stand here all day and tell you more, but my time is limited, so once again I remind you that in Newfoundland and Labrador, there are no strangers, just friends you haven’t met.