SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — Black History Month

Honourable senators, this is a tribute to our Black senators.

I also want to acknowledge that Anugo, the new parliamentary adviser with whom I have the privilege of working, took the lead on drafting this tribute.

To the senators, this is for you.

Black History Month causes this chamber to reflect on the contributions and the impact of the sacred work carried on by Black senators. We honour and give gratitude to your ancestors, celebrating their perseverance and tenacity, and their dedication to the path they set on which you, as living ancestors, continue to walk.

This is a celebration of your strength to push through tough barriers to ensure others behind you get to experience a better future; your determination and commitment to community building, innovation, politics and more, which add to the continuous building and strengthening of our country; your achievements across diverse sectors, while also acknowledging that you have a call to action to deconstruct systemic barriers that are still in place; and your tenacity to contribute to transformation in the Red Chamber, new beginnings, growth, shifts and change for us all.

This is for your strength in speaking the truth, especially when it would have been easier not to, the compromises you no longer make, the ways you show our youth to know their worth and the beauty in not staying the same.

We still live in a world that experiences different forms of injustice, racism and discrimination today. This is for the bridges you built, the hills you climbed and the difficult paths you had the strength to choose.

Collectively, we can continue to work with you to make Canada a place hospitable to the dreams of many individuals who, in turn, will add value to our country and lead us all to grow in ways bigger than we can imagine.

Honouring Black History Month sincerely, and recognizing the legacy it carries, will help us to move forward together.

Thank you for giving me this great opportunity. Kinanâskomitinawow.