Honourable senators, on behalf of the Progressive Senate Group and Senator Cordy who couldn’t be here, I would like to address a few words to the family.

There are numerous reasons why people gather. Many of them are happy, many of them are sad. No matter the occasion, it is undoubtedly better when we are able to mark it with others. It is this important connection that has been missing for us over the course of the last two years as we navigate the pandemic. We are all knit in this together, together and apart. These were crucial statements to keep our family and friends safe.

As things open up somewhat, we are better equipped to manage COVID. We must now catch up with the occasions we were unable to properly mark.

One such occasion is the passing of our former friend and colleague Yoine Goldstein. Many of Yoine’s family members are with us today, and I want to give them my regards. I hope they will find a measure of comfort in this belated commemoration of his life and, more specifically, his time in the Senate.

Senator Larry Campbell and I were sworn in at the same time as Yoine, and it marked us. I know that Yoine really appreciated the time he spent with us here in the Senate.

Yoine was born in Montreal in 1934. He received a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Civil Law with distinction from McGill University. During his studies at McGill, he was selected as the articles editor for the McGill Law Journal. In 1960, he obtained his Doctor of Laws from the Université de Lyon and was called to the Quebec Bar the following year. He was recognized nationally and internationally for his expertise in insolvency, bankruptcy and commercial litigation.

He became an advocate for Canadian students and reforms to the system to ensure that post-secondary education would not saddle them with an insurmountable financial burden. More directly, he also worked with students, sharing his knowledge as a lecturer from 1973 to 1997 at the Faculty of Law at the University of Montreal. Named to the Insolvency Institute of Canada, Yoine was also the only Canadian made to be a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American College of Bankruptcy.

Very active in Montreal’s Jewish community — and I’m sure my friend Marc Gold will elaborate on that — Yoine was president from 1995 to 1997 of the Federation CJA, a funding and planning coordinating body for the Jewish community in Montreal. He was also a member of the community advisory board of the Concordia University Chair for Canadian Jewish Studies.

Although he served only four years with us here in the Senate, Senator Goldstein made a significant impact. Not surprisingly, he made a valuable contribution as a member of the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce. He was a strong advocate for human rights, often speaking out about tolerance, respect and social justice around the world. His descriptions of the situation in Darfur were particularly important. Internationally, he represented Canada and Canadians at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Senator Goldstein appreciated his time in this place and the opportunity to serve Canadians. In his farewell speech, he said:

Canada is not only physically beautiful; it is a country that has a soul. . . . It is evidenced by the sincere desire and intent of all political parties to make Canada better and, indeed, to try to make it the best it can be.

A country can ask no more of its citizens.

Here is my wish for his wife, Elaine, his children and the rest of his family: I hope you know that he achieved his goals in spades. I know you are still grieving his loss, but I hope the memory of Yoine and this farewell to a dear friend and colleague will help you feel a little better.

Honourable senators, I rise today to pay tribute to former senator and my lifelong friend Yoine Goldstein, and to honour his memory in the presence of his wife, Elaine, their son Doron, daughter Dahna, daughter-in-law Sarah, grandson Ezra, and his trusted colleagues and devoted friends.

As our colleague, Senator Dawson, said, Yoine had a brilliant legal career. I will not list all of his achievements, but I would like to add that he was also a talented teacher at the Université de Montréal’s law school from 1973 to 1997.

In August 2005, Yoine was appointed to the Senate by the Right Honourable Paul Martin. He joined the committees that mattered most to him professionally and personally: the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce, the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration, the Committee on Human Rights, and the Committee on Official Languages. He was a hard-working, model senator, and everyone he worked with recognized his contribution.

Let me quote former senator Nancy Ruth from May 7, 2009, the day of Senator Goldstein’s retirement:

Let me say that week after week, day after day, statement after statement, motion after motion, inquiry after inquiry, I have listened to you, your eloquence, your fury, your righteousness, your commitment, your sadness, your perseverance, your dedication and your vision.

Thanks for taking the time to be here . . . .

This, in a nutshell, was Yoine Goldstein.

Let me share another dimension of Yoine with you, for I knew and worked with him for many decades in his capacity as a leader in my community.

Yoine devoted himself tirelessly to community work, and he held all the leading positions in the Jewish community and, indeed, beyond the Jewish community in Montreal, at the national level and internationally. He made a real difference, colleagues. He was a bridge builder between the Jewish community and Quebec society. He was a progressive voice, and a pioneer in intercultural dialogue and collaboration.

Yoine was also a founding member of The Tolerance Foundation, which is now known as ENSEMBLE for the respect of diversity, an organization that is dedicated to helping the youth of Quebec better understand the issues and challenges of living together in our increasingly diverse and pluralistic society.

Yoine and I worked together in this organization for many years, and I had the honour of succeeding him as co-president when his duties in the Senate required him to pass the baton. He was a role model, he was a mentor and he was an inspiration to me and to countless others who had the privilege of working with him.

I will close, as did our colleague Senator Dawson, with words from Yoine’s final speech in the chamber:

. . . the Book of the Bible, Koheleth, which you know as Ecclesiastes, contains one phrase that is particularly significant to me at the moment. The phrase is, “To everything there is a season.” This is the season for me to take leave . . .

Yoine, you left us too soon. But you leave behind a magnificent legacy, and the challenge to all of us of continuing the good works that you did on behalf of all Canadians. You have blessed us with your presence. We miss you terribly.

Honourable senators, I also rise today and wish to pay tribute to the Honourable Yoine Goldstein. Born in Montreal, Yoine Goldstein strongly believed in the importance of giving back to his community. His lifelong actions demonstrated his dedication and devotion to public service.

Prior to being appointed by the Right Honourable Paul Martin, Yoine Goldstein was a lawyer and an academic. He was a managing partner of Goldstein, Flanz & Fishman law firm, where he specialized in insolvency, bankruptcy and commercial litigation.

He was very active in the academic world. As a matter of fact, his name appears on the list of Canadian legal scholars. His expertise was well known and was recognized with many awards that figure in his name, such as the Lord Reading Law Society Human Rights Award, and the Lord Reading Law Society Service Award.

Yoine Goldstein gave lectures for more than a quarter of a decade at the Faculty of Law at the Université de Montréal. But law was just one of his many ways of giving back. He was also very active in Montreal’s Jewish community. We have heard about it already today. He served as the President of the Federation CJA, which aims to collect funds and ensures the money is used in a multitude of local and national programs. Senator Gold also knows this organization well.

Senator Goldstein served in the Senate from August 2005 to May 2009, so our paths never crossed in this chamber. I was appointed just a few months after Senator Goldstein retired. Although his tenure was not very long, he certainly made valuable contributions as the Deputy Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce.

Colleagues, I also wish to conclude with a quote, and this quote is from Jonathan Kay of the National Post from October 2013:

. . . Yoine Goldstein is a model: He came to the Senate with all sorts of experience as a legal expert, and from day one he used that expertise to craft legislative initiatives governing complex areas of law that few other senators could master.

On behalf of the opposition in the Senate, I wish to express my deepest sympathies to his wife, Elaine, to his children, Doron and Dahna and to all his family and friends. Your loved one’s dedication to this chamber will not be forgotten. Thank you for sharing your husband, father and grandfather with all of Canada. May God richly bless you.

Thank you very much, colleagues.