Honourable senators, today we rise with heavy hearts to honour the life and legacy of our former colleague the Honourable Don Oliver.

Many will remember him as the first Black man appointed to the Senate of Canada, named in 1990 by prime minister Brian Mulroney. That alone was historic, but anyone who knew Senator Oliver knows he was never content to simply be a symbol. He came here to do the work, and he did it with thoughtfulness, purpose and great strength.

Long before he came to Parliament Hill, Senator Oliver had already built a distinguished career as a lawyer, educator and community leader. He practised law for over 30 years in Nova Scotia, taught at Dalhousie Law School and served on countless boards in both the private and the non-profit sector. His legal acumen was matched only by his deep commitment to public service and to the place he came from.

That commitment is probably most visible in one of the lasting institutions he helped create, the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, which today serves as a permanent home for the stories, history and contributions of the Black Nova Scotian community. As it happens, on September 17 — the day we lost Senator Oliver — the centre marked its forty-second anniversary. It continues to do the important work he cared so deeply about by educating new generations and keeping those stories alive.

That same dedication shaped Senator Oliver’s political life. Long before his appointment to this chamber, he played a key role in the Conservative movement, serving as director of legal affairs for six federal elections and helping to strengthen our national caucus behind the scenes. With this principled approach, he earned the respect of colleagues on all sides of this chamber.

When he entered this chamber, he brought with him all of that experience and a steady voice for Nova Scotia. Senator Oliver’s presence here was marked by thoughtfulness and principle. He didn’t speak to be heard; he spoke to move things forward. He saw the Senate as a place not just for sober second thought but for bold first steps, especially on issues that others were reluctant to confront.

Many of us will remember that he was, in fact, one of the early voices in Parliament to raise systemic racism as a serious public issue. He was passionate about closing the digital divide and about creating opportunities for under-represented Canadians in business and in public life. His work was not performative; it was grounded, persistent and years ahead of its time.

Above all, those of us who were lucky to have worked alongside him will remember the quiet dignity with which he carried himself and the decency and respect with which he treated those he came into contact with. Many of us viewed him not only as a colleague but as a mentor, someone who always had time for a word of encouragement, a moment of kindness and a quiet word of advice.

On behalf of the Senate Conservative caucus, we extend our deepest condolences to his wife, Linda, to his family and loved ones and to all those mourning his loss across our country.

Senator Donald Oliver opened doors, he raised standards, and he left this institution — and this country — better than he found it. Above all else, if there is one way I would describe Senator Oliver, it would be a genuine gentleman.

Thank you, colleagues.

Honourable senators, it is my honour today to speak on behalf of the Canadian Senators Group. Thank you to my colleagues for giving me the opportunity to pay tribute to the Honourable Senator Donald Oliver.

In politics, in the political world, we tend to talk a lot about legacy, but a wise politician once told me that your own legacy is something you should never talk about; it is for others to determine after you are gone.

Don Oliver is gone. The moment I learned of his passing, a wave of profound sadness washed over me. In that instant, I knew my community and my country had lost a great leader. I took time to reflect and wondered how many Canadians know the impact Senator Oliver had on their lives.

True legacies are built piece by piece, day by day, infused with integrity and fuelled by perseverance. True legacies are constructed with a connection to the future, a deep desire to make life better for generations to come.

Senator Oliver has left behind a true legacy, one that stands comfortably among those who left the greatest and most influential impacts as Canadians.

Senator Oliver’s legacy can be found in the lives of Black and other racialized Canadians who had doors open to better-paying jobs and fulfilling careers, because of his seminal work, a massive undertaking entitled Business Critical: Maximizing the Talents of Visible Minorities.

In 2005 Senator Oliver raised $500,000 to fund this project. He also led the work of the Conference Board of Canada for this, the first-ever national study conducted in Canada, which definitively proved the business case for diversity.

But Senator Oliver was not one to rest on his laurels. He then spent nearly two decades sharing this message with business leaders and industry groups at luncheons, dinners, conferences and symposiums, wherever a podium was offered. In short, this quiet, thoughtful and humble man had a profound impact.

Senator Oliver’s legacy can also be found in the Black Cultural Centre in Cherrybrook, Nova Scotia, where African Nova Scotians have gathered for the past 42 years to celebrate our culture and draw strength from our history. In Nova Scotia, that’s 400 years of history! History that was suppressed to deny us the pride.

The Honourable Senator Donald Oliver is now a treasured part of that history. It is incumbent upon Canadians, especially African Nova Scotians and Black Canadians, to ensure that his legacy is not forgotten. It is the least we can do to thank him for the wonderful legacy that he has left for us. Thank you.

Honourable senators, I acknowledge that we gather today on the traditional and unceded territory of the Algonquin and Anishinaabe Peoples.

I rise today on behalf of the Progressive Senate Group to honour my friend and mentor the Honourable Senator Donald Oliver.

Senator Oliver made history in this chamber — as you’ve already heard — as the first Black man and the first African-Nova Scotian appointed to the Senate of Canada.

A trailblazer in human rights, his contributions to social justice and equality are profound and enduring. When I joined the Senate, a few years after his retirement, he graciously met with me to reflect on his journey. I was deeply moved by his wisdom and the timeless advice he shared. I carry his words with me every single day.

I’ve often spoken about the significance of Senator Oliver’s work and proudly shared that I stand on his shoulders. One of the greatest lessons I learned from him is that when you are a “first,” especially as an African-Nova Scotian entering spaces our ancestors were once excluded from, it is never by accident. We are here because of their sacrifices. And with that legacy comes a responsibility to continue the fight for equity and justice.

It was a pleasure to present him with the Senate of Canada’s 150th commemorative medal. Many of you would have been here when he received that.

One of my fondest memories was a fireside chat we shared for Lincoln Alexander Day in January 2022. Like Lincoln Alexander, Senator Oliver believed deeply in the power of government to enact meaningful change for African-Canadians and others. He offered invaluable strategies for working across party lines on matters of equity and diversity.

His legacy lives on in the institutions he helped shape and in the lives he touched. A powerful example of this is his work with the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia to establish the Senator Don Oliver Black Voices Prize, a prize that supports emerging Black-Nova Scotian writers.

His mission was always very clear: simply to remove barriers. Senator Oliver’s words and actions will continue to inspire generations. My heartfelt condolences and those of our senate group go out to his beloved wife, Linda, their daughter, Carolynn, son-in-law, Oliver, his sisters and all African-Nova Scotians — all Nova Scotians — all Canadians who knew and loved him. We will miss you, Senator Don Oliver. Thank you, asante.

Honourable senators, I stand today with a heavy heart to pay tribute to a former parliamentarian, a trusted colleague, a remarkable man: the Honourable Don H. Oliver.

In this chamber we always deal with policies, debates, words, but behind every bill and every question is a person who carries their own ideals, convictions and vision for a better Canada. Senator Oliver was one such person.

Some of you may remember him well, as I do, having had the opportunity to sit in this chamber with him. He was definitely a trailblazer. As the first Black Canadian man to be appointed to the Senate, he was very passionate about equality for Black Canadians, Indigenous Peoples and other racialized communities in Canada.

I had the opportunity to see Senator Oliver at work on an international level when we travelled together on an Inter‑Parliamentary Union, or IPU, trip. We had a meeting every evening, and Senator Oliver would take the time to ask each delegate how their day had been, what they had worked on and how they felt. I realized then that Senator Oliver was a very inclusive man: to him everyone’s opinion mattered. He made everyone feel valued. He was a leader.

He enjoyed international diplomacy, and on most evenings he would share with us many stories. We all learned from those stories, and I realized that he was valued at the IPU. I would see many countries come and ask his opinion. Those of us who worked with him knew that he was a very committed and determined man.

I have to share this story with you. We were in Ecuador at the time, and because Quito is the high-altitude capital, we were told to give our bodies time to adjust and to avoid strenuous exercise. Well, we were told three or four days. Do you think Senator Oliver listened? No.

At the start of the assembly, the President of Ecuador was delivering what turned out to be a one-and-a-half-hour speech. Senator Oliver, who was sitting in the front row, suddenly fainted. The president did not miss a beat, but we Canadians were all very concerned. They came to help him, take him and check him out. We found out he had been exercising that morning when he had been told not to. Senator Oliver showed determination and commitment to everything that he did.

To Senator Oliver’s family, please know that this chamber will not forget. We are grateful for the time we were given to work with Senator Oliver. May his legacy and memory continue to inspire generations to come. It is truly an honour to have walked alongside him. Thank you.

Honourable senators, last week our former Senate colleague, my fellow Conservative and Nova Scotian and my friend, Donald Oliver, passed away at the age of 86.

I could list Donnie’s accomplishments, awards and honours, and there were many, but they are on the record for all to see. I prefer to talk about the man himself and the things that were truly important to him: his friends, his family, his faith and his food. Donnie was a certified cordon bleu chef.

Donnie was the quintessential Nova Scotian from a family with deep roots in the province. His father’s family supported the Crown in the War of 1812 and migrated to Nova Scotia after that conflict. His mother’s family were Loyalists and came north to Nova Scotia in 1783 after the American Revolution.

I have known Donnie for over half a century. I first met him in the winter of 1975 when I was a 19-year-old university student, and he was already a well-established lawyer in his mid-thirties. I was attending my first of now over 50 Conservative conventions in Halifax, and Donnie seemed to know everybody and everybody knew him.

Donnie was man of great faith. His parents and his extended family were devout Baptists. His late brother Reverend William Oliver was a pillar of the community, as the highly regarded and long-time pastor of the Baptist Church in Halifax.

His mother’s family was a remarkable group of people that influenced him greatly. His mother’s father, William Andrew White, was a Baptist minister from Baltimore who arrived in 1900. He was a long-time pastor of the Baptist Church that Donnie’s brother later served, the first Black officer of the Canadian Army and a chaplain in the First World War. His aunt was the great contralto Portia White, the international star who was arguably Canada’s greatest opera singer. I remember well his uncle Lorne White, a long-time teacher in the Halifax school system and a great singer in his own right who was a regular on “Singalong Jubilee,” the musical show from Halifax that aired nationwide from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s.

Not long after Donnie retired in 2013, he was diagnosed with a rare and fatal heart disease and given six months to live. Through experimental treatments and sheer determination, he lived almost 12 years. He was always an iron fist in a velvet glove.

When I was sworn into the Senate in 2009, Donnie was the senator I got to walk me in. I said to Donnie before we entered, “What would our grandparents say if they could see us today?” Donnie said, “They would say Canada is a great country.”

On behalf of the Senate, his former colleagues and all of Nova Scotia, I want to pass along our sincere condolences to his wife Linda MacLellan, his daughter Carolynn and all of his extended family from the Oliver, White, James, Clarke, MacKenzie and MacLellan families. He will be buried this Saturday following a service at the Baptist Church that his brother and grandfather pastored for many decades.

In closing, I couldn’t help but think of a spiritual that his Uncle Lorne recorded in the 1960s:

I’m going to climb up Jacob’s ladder,

I’m going to climb up higher and higher,

I’m going to tell God how he served me.

All God’s children are going to sit together,

And I’m going to sit at the welcome table.

I know Donnie is at the welcome table. And if he is temporarily not in his seat, he is probably in the kitchen making sure the food is prepared just right. God rest his soul. May perpetual light shine upon him.

Honourable senators, I rise in tribute to the late Donald Oliver who served Canadians with distinction in the Senate for 23 years.

In his 2021 autobiography entitled A Matter of Equality, Senator Oliver reflected on how his appointment empowered him to promote tolerance, diversity and inclusion in the public and private sectors. He built a strong business case for diversity long before it became widely accepted, and his efforts helped change the face of Canada’s workforce. I was honoured to host a fireside chat with him at the time of its release.

Personally, I also feel the impact of his legacy. My Director of Parliamentary Affairs, Éric Gagnon, got his first job on the Hill working for Senator Oliver nearly 20 years ago.

Senator Oliver was arguably one of the hardest working senators on the Hill, and Éric remembers him as tough but fair, kind and generous and always eager to turn every challenge into a teachable moment. Senator Oliver was also known for his contagious laugh, his sense of humour and his style.

Their relationship grew into a long-standing friendship, and they would speak regularly, even as recently as last month in what Éric describes as an emotional conversation, a farewell of sorts, filled with laughter, memories and gratitude. Senator Oliver was his mentor and an inspiration.

One story Éric shared speaks volumes about Senator Oliver’s influence. About 15 years ago, Senator Oliver casually introduced Éric to a new committee clerk. It was Senator Oliver’s first visible minority clerk as committee chair — a point he was proud to underline after years of calling out the Senate for the lack of diversity in its upper ranks.

Last year, Éric was thrilled to tell him that same individual, Shaila Anwar, had been appointed Clerk of the Senate. Senator Oliver was overjoyed. It was a moment of pride that underscored his lifelong fight for inclusion.

When Brian Mulroney chose him, he knew it was both a symbolic and substantive choice. He would be the first Black man appointed to the Senate, but as Mulroney said, “. . . Donnie Oliver would bring enlightened leadership and unrelenting commitment . . . .” to the cause of equality.

Honourable colleagues, 35 years later, Don Oliver’s legacy is one of breaking down barriers to systemic racism, shattering the glass ceiling for minorities and, as he so ably put it, “. . . challenging the intellectual mindset of certain Whites by encouraging them to explore some uncomfortable truths.”

Diversity is just having a mix of people and cultures in society, as he would say, but inclusion — that’s what makes the mix actually work. Let us honour his legacy by living those words.

Honourable senators, I rise today on behalf of the Government Representative’s Office to pay tribute to our former colleague the Honourable Senator Donald Oliver.

Senator Oliver was a trailblazer always championing justice, human rights and inclusivity. He has left an indelible mark on Canada through his extraordinary career in law, politics and public service.

A long-time activist for the Progressive Conservative Party, Senator Oliver was named to the Senate on the advice of former prime minister Brian Mulroney on September 7, 1990, making history as the first Black man appointed to the Senate. He made sure through his long years of service to advance and defend racial diversity in all orders and branches of the government.

Senator Oliver’s work extended well beyond this chamber. As a proud Nova Scotian and strong advocate for his community, Senator Oliver was critical in establishing the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, and he sat on a wide range of boards, including as the president and chairman of the Children’s Aid Society of Halifax.

In recognition of his service to Nova Scotia and Canada, Senator Oliver received numerous awards and honours, most notably the Order of Canada in 2019 and the Order of Nova Scotia in 2020.

I want to echo Senator Moodie’s remark from yesterday: We are strengthened by the example he left us.

Unfortunately, I did not know Senator Oliver personally, but I was extremely impressed by the outpouring of gratitude, his openness and the indelible mark he left on the senators who worked alongside him. Senator Oliver leaves behind a legacy marked by courage, pride and an uncompromising commitment to public service. His work enriched Parliament and the lives of countless Canadians, and it demonstrated, both within this chamber and beyond its walls, how to inspire others to build more just and inclusive societies.

On behalf of the Government Representative’s Office, and from the bottom of my heart, I would like to offer my condolences to Senator Olivier’s family and loved ones, as well as the countless people across Canada who were inspired by his life and are mourning the loss of this remarkable senator.