SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — The Honourable Frances Lankin, P.C.
Tributes
October 8, 2024
That is a hard act to follow, Frances.
Honourable senators, I rise today to offer my tribute to our extraordinary colleague and my dear friend Senator Frances Lankin as she takes her leave from this chamber.
I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Frances since around 1988 when I joined a group by the name of the Committee for ’94. Our goal was to elect women as half the House of Commons by 1994. Well, that group failed dismally — and it is still dismal — and we threw in the towel, but it was clear that Frances had a real passion for advancing women in politics, and she was soon to embark on her own political career.
As a New Democratic candidate in Toronto in the 1990 provincial election, the reins of power were supposedly out of her reach, with the governing Liberals holding a strong lead in the polls. But something happened on the way to the ballot box. The tide suddenly turned, and, lo and behold, Bob Rae’s New Democrats won a majority government. I say to my colleagues here, beware of the polls. If you lead in the polls, it can disappear in the blink of an eye.
Frances Lankin became the minister of everything in the new government: Minister of Government Services, Chair of Management Board, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care and Minister of Economic Development and Trade. As former premier Bob Rae said to me last week:
. . . she was a remarkable leader — candid, thoughtful, passionate and could take on any problem or issue with both patience and persistence.
She is one of the finest people I know.
Frances remained in the legislature after their government was defeated and then left to take on the very demanding job of CEO of Canada’s largest United Way, which is in Greater Toronto, a position she held for about 11 years.
That’s when I got to know her really well. Another group of feminists, still trying to get more women elected, founded Equal Voice in 2001. We spent two years meeting in her United Way office after hours, ordering pizza, drinking wine and strategizing about how to build a movement. Yes, she was passionate, but it was her intelligence, strategic focus and get-it-done attitude that inspired me then and inspire me to this very day.
We’ve seen this here in our chamber. We’ve heard many stories of the work she has done. She has taken on special and challenging assignments. In 2018, she used a rare and breathtaking move to pass the bill that replaced the words “in all thy sons command” with “in all of us command” in our national anthem, which is so important as a symbol of inclusiveness. Recently, she successfully led the government team to pass a vital motion to advance our independent Senate. There is so much more.
Frances, it is your choice to leave us well before retirement. I will miss you. Thank you for your service and for being such a wonderful friend and inspiration. I can’t wait to see how the next chapter of your remarkable life will unfold.
Honourable senators, I want to take this opportunity to share a message from our dear colleague Senator Rose-May Poirier, who is away on sick leave but is doing much better. She couldn’t be here today but wanted to share these words for Senator Lankin’s last day in the chamber with us:
Dear colleagues,
It is with a bit of a heavy heart that I share these words for my dear friend Senator Frances Lankin. It disappoints me and pains me to not be here with all of you today but more importantly, to not be here for you and with you, Frances, for your last day with us in the chamber.
Although we are not on the same side of the chamber, we happened to develop a beautiful friendship out of the hardships we were both fighting through. We supported each other in our time of need, and I will forever be grateful for the valuable time and kind advice you have offered. Often, difficult moments in our lives can bring us a light in our time of darkness. And for me, you have been that light, Senator Lankin, and I hope to have been the same for you.
Although we won’t see each other in Ottawa, I do hope we maintain contact together as we figure out our paths forward. I may not be here physically, my dear friend, but please note you are in my thoughts and prayers as you embark your next chapter of your life.
Forever your friend,
Rose-May.
Honourable senators, I rise today to pay tribute to a truly great senator. Senator Frances Lankin is a model for what an independent senator can be and do by moving beyond partisan politics for the greater good of our citizens.
Senator Lankin was always up for a deep and knowledgeable debate, respecting her interlocutors on whatever side of the issues that they may have been. She was a proud defender of the independence of senators and a strong advocate for Senate reform. I do not believe it is a coincidence that our electoral paths and participation in partisan caucus led both of us to the same conclusion: a desire for a strong, independent Senate for an enduring and respected future for this institution and its members.
She was particularly proud when this chamber finally attained gender parity — the first and only legislative chamber in our country to proudly do so. While for most of her life she strived for women to break the glass ceiling, she did so herself in politics and also in the socio-economic sphere.
One of the most striking contributions Senator Lankin made in this chamber was the passage of An Act to amend the National Anthem Act (gender), which changed the English version of our national anthem to be more inclusive of our society and better reflect the French version. She was a vigorous defender of the change and made it happen. Kudos, Frances.
I have had the pleasure of working closely with Senator Lankin over the years. Mind you, some of these working conversations were held outside while we were having a smoke.
Frances proved to be a force for positive change and helped drive us toward becoming a better-functioning Senate while maintaining the independence of our personal principles. She believes that while we may disagree at times, and sometimes passionately, that doesn’t mean we can’t work together to reach a common goal.
Frances’s favourite song is, to the surprise of no one, “Raise a Little Hell.” I reviewed the lyrics of the song and think it is more her credo. Here are a few lines:
If you don’t like what you see, why don’t you fight it?
If you know there’s something wrong, why don’t you right it?
Raise a little hell, raise a little hell, raise a little hell!
Senator Lankin, the Senate will not be the same without you. We are losing one of our strongest members, but I promise that we will do our best to fill the gap left by your departure and sometimes raise a little hell.
Thank you for your service, friendship and dedication. I wish you a safe journey to whatever adventure lies ahead. I will miss you.
Thank you to my colleague Senator Martin for ensuring that I have the space to speak today. It means a great deal to have that kind of consideration.
Honourable senators, I also met Frances through the Committee for ’94 in Toronto in the 1980s, and ironically, while the goal of gender parity in politics by 1994 was clearly not achieved, it was in 1994 when her leadership as Ontario’s first openly feminist health minister led to massive changes in the regulatory environment for regulated health professionals, in particular through a brand new code of protection for patients who were being sexually abused and assaulted by regulated health professionals.
I chaired the task force that led to those changes, and I can tell you that they absolutely would not have happened had it not been for the leadership by Senator Lankin and that they remain a world standard that has been copied and adapted the world over.
Senator Lankin, your decision to retire early is respected. It is what you need to do. However, we are losing a true doyenne in parliamentary leadership who has excelled without abandoning her feminist principles and praxis.
Maya Angelou observed:
Stepping onto a brand-new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation, which is not nurturing to the whole woman.
Helen Keller said:
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.
This heart that I’m wearing comes from the Arctic parliamentarians conference, and although it’s actually helping to hold up my outfit, it’s going to leave with you today as something that was brought from Labrador and made by hand out of seal skin. I hope it will remind you of how much you are held in our hearts here, whether you’re in that chair or not.
I close my speeches in this place in three languages — thank you, merci, meegwetch — which you also used today in your speech. But Senator McCallum explained to me the significance of the term chi-meegwetch. Yes, it means “thank you,” but it also conveys in that expression of gratitude a commitment to carrying benefits forward in how we give to others, which is what I say to you, Frances, in closing today. Chi-meegwetch, you strong, marvellous woman.
