SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — Newfoundland and Labrador Night

Honourable senators, in my humble opinion, my home province of Newfoundland and Labrador is an extraordinary and unique place. We are blessed with a rich culture, a proud heritage, an eye-catching landscape and some of the friendliest and most hospitable people you will ever meet.

To give you a taste of what our province has to offer, I’m pleased to announce today on behalf of my Senate colleagues and Members of Parliament from Newfoundland and Labrador that, on Wednesday, October 28, at the Sir John A. Macdonald Building, we will, once again, be hosting our Newfoundland and Labrador night, which is fondly referred to as “The Shed Party.”

While I may be somewhat biased, we will bring the very best of Newfoundland and Labrador to you through some of our very talented musicians and storytellers, mouth-watering food and plenty of Newfoundland beverages to help wash it down — along with a full array of all things Newfoundland and Labrador.

For those of you who are not aware of what a shed party is, I advise you to refer to Chapter 56 of “Telling Our Story,” which I delivered in this chamber on May 15, 2019. Please do not confuse a shed party with a kitchen party. That is another Newfoundland tradition, but there is clearly a difference.

A special treat this year will be the arrival of the mummers on Parliament Hill. The mummers are another long-standing tradition in Newfoundland and Labrador. There may be those among you who are asking yourselves, “What in the name of God is he talking about? What are the mummers?” Once again, I advise you to refer to Chapter 50 of “Telling Our Story,” which I delivered in this chamber on December 12, 2018.

I further advise you not to refer to a spell-checker, because it did not have a clue what I was trying to type in at the time, either.

While the mummers are purely a Christmas tradition in Newfoundland, we will be bringing that Christmas cheer to Parliament Hill in October. That may seem a little bit strange to some, but for those of us who were born and raised in Newfoundland and Labrador, every day is like Christmas.

I would like to advise you that we have some extraordinary door prizes as well, and we will not be asking any skill-testing questions.

Before I close, I want to give a sincere thank you to our ever-increasing number of sponsors, without whose continued support, bringing our shed party to the nation’s capital would not be possible.

So, friends, mark your calendars: October 28. Cancel any previous engagements, postpone any meetings that you may have and make your way to the Sir John A. Macdonald Building on Wednesday, October 28, to enjoy all things Newfoundland and Labrador at our shed party, where there are no strangers — only friends that you haven’t met.