SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — Library of Parliament

Honourable senators, libraries have existed for over 4,000 years across the globe and have served as repositories for sacred writings, great literature, chronicles and the archives of empires, kingdoms and states. They have been guardians of knowledge throughout the ages.

I rise today to mark the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Library of Parliament. Let me correct myself: our Library of Parliament. It has been a partner to parliamentarians since its official establishment in 1876. It is both a historic building and a parliamentary institution staffed by dedicated professionals who support senators and members of Parliament in carrying out their responsibilities.

This year, we celebrate both the building and the people. The library is an architectural gem, being the only surviving part of Centre Block after the great fire of 1916. Its circular shape was designed by Toronto architects Fuller and Jones who put forward a neo-Gothic design inspired by the Reading Room of the British Museum in London and the Sainte-Geneviève Library in Paris. The first Parliamentary Librarian, Alpheus Todd, insisted that the design allow users to see the entirety of the library’s collection at once and that it be housed in a separate building. This foresight ultimately helped save it from destruction.

Every day, the library’s dedicated professionals provide senators and members of Parliament with non-partisan research, analysis and legislative support that allow us to do our work responsibly. In an era of instant information and increasing complexity, the value of trusted, impartial expertise cannot be overstated. The library’s analysts, economists, legal experts and information specialists help ensure that debate in this chamber — and in the other place — is grounded in evidence, context and constitutional principle.

As we mark this historic milestone and as the newly minted Joint Chair of the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament, I congratulate today’s guardians of knowledge at the Library of Parliament for their service and dedication.