Honourable senators, I rise now on a happier topic, although a bittersweet one, to speak to this inquiry into the outsized contributions made by Senator Ratna Omidvar to the Senate of Canada and to our entire nation.

As I sat down to prepare these remarks, a line from Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream kept popping into my head, “And though she be but little, she is fierce.”

I don’t think you can blame my brain. Because I can’t think of a better epithet for Senator Omidvar unless it’s perhaps “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” which I’ve borrowed not from Shakespeare but, well, from Muhammad Ali.

Because Ratna Omidvar is a champion. A champion of human rights within Canada and around the world, a champion of immigration reform, a champion of tax reform, a champion of health care reform and a champion of Senate reform.

The independent Senate as we know it today simply would not exist without her early efforts — many of them behind the scenes — to restructure and reinvigorate the work of independent senators and of the original Independent Senators Group. As one of the original seven independents appointed by the Prime Minister in 2016, she did groundbreaking work to create the infrastructure for the Senate we know today.

She was a remarkable mentor for the senators who followed in her footsteps. From my earliest days when I arrived in Ottawa not a little dazed and confused, she offered her guidance on how to behave in the chamber. She ran a “rules school” for new senators. And later, she offered me guidance on how to do things such as launch an inquiry, table a motion or find a really good dosa in this town.

But as much as Ratna was a direct mentor, she was even more important to me as a role model, as an example of what a senator can and should be. I marvelled at her ability to channel her passion and her ideals into practical action. Lots of senators have causes they embrace. Few among us, though, have had as much tangible success in advancing their agendas and seeing them adopted as legislation. Her ability to fight for her principles and stand fast for her ideals while at the same time taking a pragmatic, commonsense approach to building consensus and getting things done has served as an inspiration for me, as I know it has for others.

Ratna once told me that she thought her real strengths were her abilities to convene and to curate. And while I think she has many other gifts, her capacity to bring diverse people together across partisan lines to work on issues that transcend ideology is one of her more magical powers. She knows how to start important conversations. And she doesn’t just know how to talk. She knows, equally importantly, how to listen.

I have also been inspired by her boundless energy, her unflagging enthusiasm, her sharp wit and intellect and her insatiable curiosity about so many issues, from the plight of Canada’s municipalities to the challenges facing international students to building relations between immigrant and Indigenous Canadians.

Of course, she has spoken out about human rights abuses in Canada, in Iran, in Afghanistan, in Burma and in Hong Kong, but she was particularly fierce in confronting the tyranny of the Russian government and of Russian oligarchs and in finding creative ways to stand up for the people of Ukraine.

But just when I thought I knew Ratna Omidvar, she would surprise me. Who knew, for example, that she spoke fluent German and that she was deeply conversant with the issues facing the modern, united Germany. Na ja, sie ist eine bemerkenswerte Frau. Truly, she is a remarkable woman. And who knew how fantastic she would look in blue jeans and a cowboy hat at the Calgary Stampede, like a real Prairie girl ready to ride the range.

After Stampede, I had the pleasure of welcoming Ratna to Edmonton, a city she had never visited. I was determined to convince her of the beauty, cultural diversity and ingenuity of our city. So I crammed her schedule with meetings and events. But I will never forget one moment we shared while we toured the Indigenous Peoples Experience at Fort Edmonton Historic Park. The IPE, as it’s called, opened in 2021, and it is — if I may say so — a remarkable, immersive museum, and one of the best explications of First Nations and Métis history and culture that I have ever seen anywhere. It uses audio and video so creatively. Every time I visit, I am moved by its profound and luminous enchantment and its thoughtful, powerful treatment of Indigenous culture and the impact of residential schools and of Indigenous resilience. I was so pleased to show it off to her.

Thus, I was puzzled when I walked over to where Ratna was standing and found her almost shaking with outrage. I wondered what on earth was wrong. She looked up at me with indignation, “Why has no one ever told me about this place?” she asked. “Every Canadian should know about this. Every Canadian should see it.”

I thought this perfectly encapsulated her boundless curiosity, her passion for knowledge, for people and for justice, her unending quest to better understand the complexities of the country she so loves.

Ratna is headed off for many other adventures, in Berlin and at Toronto Metropolitan University. But I can’t wait until she makes good on her promise and brings her whole family back to Edmonton to stay at Fort Edmonton Park. Because I already miss her.