Honourable senators, I want to begin with a very sincere thank you to the Independent Senators Group for providing me with time today, given that unaffiliated senators often do not have that option.

I want to give tribute today to the late Honourable Lois Wilson. I don’t have adequate time or words to outline in a lot of detail how much she changed and influenced my life, but I want to point out her independence and determination to remain independent and unaffiliated as a senator, even at a time when the political binary of this chamber was so dominant.

She accomplished a lot. I remember talking to her about the committees that she served on, assuming that she would be, for example, on the Human Rights Committee. To my surprise, she said, “I’m not allowed to sit on any committees.” Of course, we know that is still a challenge here today for those who are unaffiliated.

Nevertheless, Lois Wilson worked on behalf of people who very often would never otherwise have been heard or represented in this chamber. She found ways to do it with grace, determination and success.

For those of you, like Senator Kim Pate, who knew and worked with Lois, the fact that she resembled a petite hurricane in words and action was actually part of her allure. In the words of the Honourable Lloyd Axworthy, speaking about her influence on him from a young age in Winnipeg:

We had wonderful ministers. Roy Wilson and Lois Wilson—she eventually became the moderator of the United Church, very famous woman. When I got into Foreign Affairs she did some dangerous, tricky missions for me, like going to Sudan . . . .

He also said:

She will be remembered for her remarkable life accomplishments: First woman Moderator of the United Church, special envoy to Sudan and North Korea, Senator, Companion of the Order of Canada.

My fondest recollection is sitting on the living room floor in the modest church manse on Arlington avenue in Winnipeg’s North End. Every Sunday evening, Lois and her husband Roy would lead a group of teens in discussion on the tenets of the social gospel which taught that one’s faith is tested by what you do on earth to make it a better place. It wasn’t just talk . . . .

The list of ways that Lois helped and guided me over many years is too long to share today, but I would ask that you join with me in a sense of tribute toward this woman who, for nine‑plus decades, gave of herself, her brilliance and her sense of justice to make this world a better place. Thank you, meegwetch.