Honourable senators, I rise to speak at third reading in support of Bill S-205, An Act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act (Parliamentary Visual Artist Laureate).

Let me begin by thanking the sponsor of the bill, Senator Patricia Bovey; thanks to her unwavering determination, this bill will pass very soon in this chamber — at least I hope it will.

I’d also like to recognize Senator Bovey’s outstanding commitment to defending the arts and Canada’s artists over many decades. Her contribution is remarkable and deserves our utmost admiration. Thank you, senator.

Honourable colleagues, Bill S-205, if it is adopted, will mark an important step in the dialogue Canadian parliamentarians have among themselves and with the arts in general. We already have the privilege of having a Parliamentary Poet Laureate. It is high time we were joined by other artists, as well.

As you know, in the Parliament of Canada, the only official means of communication and expression allowed in the House and Senate chambers are speaking and writing. At the heart of our deliberations, the words, and the notions underlying them, are the instruments that allow us to delve deeper into the bills we must consider and the matters of interest we must address.

Even though this flow of words we’re facing may be essential and fundamental to our work, I agree that we may sometimes feel like we’re drowning in it. These words often take over our thoughts and minds and leave very little room for us to use our senses, which also help us to make sense of the world around us, to understand it and change it by enlarging our vision of it.

As Valérie Gauthier, associate professor for the department of languages and culture at the École des hautes études commerciales de Paris, said in a column published in 2016 entitled “Le sens du monde,” and I quote:

First of all, the use of our primary senses — sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell — is an unparalleled source of insight into the world. Our senses enable us to enter into a real and direct relationship with nature and people, as long as we let that relationship develop without our brain imposing some sort of interpretation or analysis that will confuse it. Our senses elicit sensations where, as Baudelaire, said, “Perfumes, sounds, and colours correspond.” Sensation is thus a cognitive ability to capture the reality of what is, to see things and people as they are and not for what we want them to represent.

Ms. Gauthier goes on to say, and I quote:

I am talking here about intelligence that is sensitive to empathy, the rare capacity of a leader to be able to listen for what another person is saying and not for what he wants to hear or to be told. A very powerful remedy for conflict, this creates greater respect for the other person’s integrity and greater respect for one’s self.

Art connects to all those dimensions, esteemed colleagues. Some people don’t have much use for art. Many see it as mere decoration or curiosity. Worse, some see it as an escape from reality. However, it’s no coincidence that art has been an integral part of human civilization for more than 30,000 years. Art plays a much more important role than that, which is probably why the neurosciences have investigated how an individual’s brain reacts when that person is contemplating a work of art. The answer is astounding. Our brains release dopamine, the happiness hormone often associated with love. Studies have shown a clear link between art and human emotions. In other words, sometimes art can catch us off guard and capture our attention by triggering our most intimate emotions slumbering deep within.

One study showed that we are particularly attracted to abstract art because it allows the brain to transcend reality and access other previously inaccessible states by enabling it to create different emotional and cognitive connections. Being exposed to works of art that are hard to understand and appreciate aesthetically makes us think. We do not just contemplate a work of art. We examine and observe it. We try to understand it and figure it out. All of these activities help develop our ability to think abstractly and therefore increase our problem-solving skills.

Art prompts conversation and exchange. It fosters a sense of empathy, which is essential to society — and to Parliament — because it requires us to actively listen to others and strive to understand them.

In short, esteemed colleagues, art teaches us to listen, to look, to observe, to understand and to imagine. That is true of all art forms, including those that do not employ words, such as the visual arts, music, dance and performing arts.

As legislators, we are surrounded by beautiful works of art in the various Parliament buildings where we work. Much of this art is from other eras, and some of these works tell us about our country’s history. Bringing a contemporary visual artist into the Parliament of Canada will encourage us to take a new look at our institution and will surely influence the way we carry out our role as parliamentarians, because works of art have always pushed us to rethink our outlook, to be outraged in the face of injustice and to do something to address it.

That is why I will be voting in favour of this bill, and I urge you to do the same.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the Canadian artists who brighten up our world and all the associations that support them, including the Association des groupes en arts visuels francophones, whose work I greatly respect.

Finally, honourable senators, let me express the hope that we may also in the near future create the position of parliamentary composer laureate, as some other jurisdictions have done, for the benefit of all. You can count on me to remind you of this in the form of a bill, and if that isn’t enough, I will do so by singing, dancing and using every sense and every means at my disposal to convince you.

Thank you for your attention.