SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — Tributes
The Honourable Diane Bellemare
October 10, 2024
Honourable senators, our colleague Diane is turning 75 on Saturday. In Quebec, we often celebrate birthdays by singing, so I thought about giving my speech in song, like when Senator Jean Lapointe left the Senate.
Then I remembered what Sister Florida told me when I was in grade four: “You, the tall boy in the back row, just mouth along.”
With that in mind, I will just sing a few words: “Happy birthday, dear Diane, happy birthday to you.”
I know that there’s a lot of love for you here in this chamber. Throughout your time here, certain characteristics have become your hallmark. First of all, you’re very independent minded, which meant that you always took a stand based on what you thought, not based on the party or group line.
Second, you’re a hard worker. A lot of careful preparation went into your speeches in the Senate and your outside projects, one of which just successfully resulted in a new reform at the Bank of Canada.
Third, you have a sincere desire to bring people together and build consensus, rather than provoke confrontation. Reaching out to others is how you approach everything, and your bills were no exception.
You enthusiastically embraced the Senate reform project and agreed to be an active participant in the Government Representative’s office, the Independent Senators Group and the Progressive Senate Group. The independent senators of the Progressive Senate Group willingly chose you to chair the Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament and to work with others to reform the Rules just this past spring. You certainly played an important role in getting the most recent changes adopted as part of the ongoing Senate reform.
You also worked to break the duopoly present in our chamber until 2015. As you said last April, you wanted to create a group of independent senators modelled on the 184 cross-benchers who sit in the House of Lords alongside the groups associated with Britain’s three main political parties. You said you even talked about it with Brian Mulroney, who told you it was a good idea but recommended waiting until the Harper government left office.
Dear Diane, I wish you a happy retirement with your beloved Victor, who’s here with us today, and the rest of your beautiful family, whom I’ve met a few times. Also, over the next few weeks, you’ll be able to catch up on all the “Game of Thrones” episodes you missed.
Today our colleagues are losing a renowned economist, but I know that I will continue to see a friend from my neck of the woods.
Thank you, and congratulations, Diane.
Senators, I have the privilege of rising today to honour our esteemed colleague, Diane Bellemare, for her illustrious career both here in the Senate and in the course of her many past duties.
Diane, from one teacher to another, I have always admired your passion for education and academia. Your research on economic solutions for achieving social justice is deeply appreciated and made an indelible mark, although I must admit that I haven’t started reading your 800-page doctoral thesis on economic insecurity yet. I may take advantage of the Thanksgiving holiday to get started on that.
As though being a professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal for almost 25 years were not enough, Senator Bellemare also sat on the Economic Council of Canada and the National Statistics Council and participated in creating the Forum pour l’emploi.
It was therefore entirely appropriate that Senator Bellemare’s first speech after her appointment to this chamber in 2012 took place on International Workers’ Day and focused on the ability of each individual to hold paid employment in a field of their choice.
Not long after, Senator Bellemare made it clear that she would not hesitate to take strong positions on the issues that matter the most to her and to speak out if policies went against the interests of her province.
Senator Bellemare’s independence and commitment to her core values could not have been clearer when she opposed Bill C-377 during the Forty-first Parliament. That focus on independence continued when Senator Bellemare joined the Government Representative Office in 2016 as the first Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative. In that role, Senator Bellemare, along with Senators Harder and Mitchell, spearheaded the shift toward a more independent Senate, ensuring that all legislation is given adequate consideration in a non-partisan way.
Diane, on behalf of the Government Representative Office, thank you for all the work you have done to modernize this chamber and make this nation a better place, and thank you for being so friendly toward me and my wife Nancy from my very first days here.
I wish you every success and happiness with your family and loved ones in this next chapter of your life. We’ll miss you.
Honourable senators, I rise today to pay tribute to our colleague, the Honourable Diane Bellemare, who is preparing to officially retire from the Senate on October 13, 2024.
Prior to her journey in the Senate, Diane Bellemare was a professor at the Université du Québec for 25 years. As a former educator myself, I know the important role that Senator Bellemare must have played in shaping the lives of so many bright students eager to make their mark on the world. Senator Bellemare is also a respected economist and has served on various councils and boards in Quebec.
Appointed to the Senate in 2012, Senator Bellemare has served on various committees including as Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament and as a member of the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy, to name two. In the Senate Chamber, Senator Bellemare has worked diligently to serve Canadians and represent her belle province of Quebec.
Senator Bellemare and I had an opportunity to build a special working relationship as deputy leaders when we were still in Centre Block — that building from long ago — sitting around the scroll table to negotiate the legislative agenda of the day, going up and down the stairs as her office was on the second floor and mine was on the third. Determining the orders of the day were simpler in those days, weren’t they, Senator Bellemare? We have also worked on committees together, and I have seen first-hand the passion and dedication that you put into your work as a senator.
I would also like to acknowledge Senator Bellemare’s family for their love and support throughout her years as a senator.
Senator Bellemare, thank you for your service to our country and for your work in the Senate. On behalf of the Conservative caucus, I wish you good health and prosperity as you embark on the next chapter of your life.
Senator Bellemare has completed a PhD in economics at McGill University, worked as a professor in the economics department at the Université du Québec à Montréal and as an associate fellow at the inter-university research institute CIRANO, served as vice-president of research and chief economist at the Conseil du Patronat du Québec and worked as a political adviser, author, TV journalist and senator.
Dear Senator Bellemare, you have had a distinguished and varied career. Today, it is a pleasure to pay tribute to you on behalf of the Independent Senators Group.
You are a brilliant woman, of course, but also a caring one. I would like to begin by reading what Senator Saint-Germain had to say about you. She said, and I quote:
Many members of the first cohorts of independent senators, like me, will remember the warm welcome we received from Senator Bellemare and how she was always available to help us settle in. We are very grateful to her for that.
I completely agree with our facilitator’s statement.
Senator Bellemare, when it comes to the principle of independence, it’s fair to say that you walk the talk. Whether it concerns your position, work in the chamber or in committee, changes to the Rules or fairness and equity among senators, your contribution is always constructive, original and assertive.
When I asked some colleagues what words best describe you, there were plenty of suggestions: free-thinking, thorough, intelligent, sensitive, open-minded and kind. I, for one, admire your passion for the issues you care about and your ability to stay focused on your goals.
Like many colleagues, I have benefited from your talents as an educator. Your ability to dissect complex economic bills has been extremely useful. Your analytical speeches explained things in a clear, articulate and educational way. For those of us who are not economists, you have been a gold mine of information, sharing your knowledge with confidence while also respecting differing opinions.
Senator Bellemare, Diane, my dear friend, the chances were pretty slim that an athlete and an economist would have chemistry. Yet, as soon as I arrived in the Senate, we clicked. We share a love of good food, good wine and long conversations. I’m going to miss our chats and our partnership. I’d even go so far as to say that I’m going to miss the way you would burst into an impassioned speech on full employment or the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the middle of a meal.
That said, I’m not too worried. I know where to find you.
Dearest Senator Bellemare, on behalf of all the senators in the Independent Senators Group, thank you for your contribution to a more independent, less partisan Senate. We will miss you, Senator Bellemare. I wish you all the best in your well-deserved retirement.
Honourable senators, I want to take a few minutes to pay tribute to my colleague and friend, the Honourable Senator Bellemare.
She is leaving us for a well-deserved retirement following a long career in which she left her mark on Quebec and this chamber. She taught labour economics at the Université du Québec à Montréal for just over 20 years before her career took a unique turn that gave her a chance to apply her vast academic experience while maintaining her independent spirit.
Senator Bellemare held several important roles with organizations like the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec and the Conseil du patronat du Québec, which often take very different positions.
What stands out about her time in this chamber since her appointment in 2012? She and a few other senators started a bit of a quiet revolution in the Senate when, in March 2016, they laid the foundation for the first group of senators unaffiliated with a political party.
Her contribution to modernizing our institution did not stop there. She participated in the work of the Special Senate Committee on Senate Modernization and the Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament in an effort to make our rules and practices less partisan.
Just between us, I would also add that she joined Senator Greene, Senator Massicotte and me for friendly, informal meetings over oysters at The Shore Club. We had lively conversations about reinventing the Senate, and sometimes even the world. I’ll treasure my memories of those times, and I hope she will too.
As the first female labour economist appointed to the Senate, she has brought labour market and employment issues to the fore throughout her tenure. Her hard work culminated with the Senate’s passage of her Bill S-244, a bill to establish the Employment Insurance Council, on June 18.
On a more personal note, I myself will never forget her heartfelt support when I had to battle cancer in 2015 and 2016. The day after each of my many treatments, I would get a phone call from my colleague, Diane, with a genuine message of encouragement and optimism. Those moments will always have a special place in my memory and my heart.
In closing, I’m sure our colleague will be pursuing lots of projects over the next few years. However, family is the most precious thing we have, so my greatest wish for her is to spend quality time with her loved ones. Thank you.
