SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — The Honourable Brent Cotter, K.C.
Tributes on Retirement
December 11, 2024
Honourable senators, I join you in tribute to our colleague Senator Brent Cotter.
Senator Cotter is, by any measure, a remarkable contributor to the fabric of Canadian jurisprudence, to education and to the betterment of our society.
I met Brent in 1992, when he was the Deputy Minister of Justice in Saskatchewan. At the time, provincial court judges were pitted in a dispute with the province over the principle of judicial independence. His adherence to fairness, legal principles and the defence of the rule of law led to negotiated legislation to create a judicial independence commission, which, in turn, became a model for Canada.
As Deputy Minister of Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs, he led the implementation of government-wide services for First Nations and Métis peoples, earning national recognition, a testament to his vision for a more inclusive society and an enduring legacy of progress and hope.
In the early 1990s, he negotiated the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority agreement. This allows all 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan to participate in the profits of gaming revenue in casinos run by First Nations. I believe this is an example of economic reconciliation and a model for all of Canada.
He is a former dean of the College of Law at the University of Saskatchewan, and his passion for teaching continues to resonate in the lives of the students he mentored. Notably, he taught ethics and an always oversubscribed course on how to be an agent for professional athletes.
In the Senate, he has been exceedingly calm and fair as a chair, a sounding board for all constitutional matters and a champion of notable legislation, including Bill C-22 supporting the financial security of people with disabilities. This highlights, in my belief, his determination that no one should be left behind.
His accolades include the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal, the Distinguished Service Award from the Canadian Bar Association and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Association for Legal Ethics.
Brent has been a personal mentor to me as I have learned to navigate this Byzantine place. Therefore, I would like to think that he is responsible for all of the mistakes I have made so far.
Brent truly loves his work in the Senate, which explains, I think, why he is so good at it and which may explain why he will miss us, in my opinion, just as much as we will miss him.
As a friend, I say this: May your journey ahead be as inspiring as the one you have travelled thus far. Best wishes to you and your family.
Thank you, Brent.
Honourable senators, when Brent Cotter was named to the Senate in 2020, the late senator Murray Sinclair said to me:
Cotter is the pre-eminent authority on legal ethics in Canada. We should do everything we can to recruit him as a member of the ISG.
Such is the esteem with which Senator Cotter is held by his peers that he landed in our chamber with an aura and great expectations. He did not disappoint. In less than five years, Senator Cotter has chalked up a record on statements, bills, motions and inquiries, as well as service to the Senate.
He did the best that he could, which is better than most of us can hope for. That he accomplished so much during a time when the work of the Senate was reduced to a crawl because of COVID is even more impressive.
Senator Cotter plunged headlong into the work of the Senate and did not let a pandemic get in the way of that. In fact, he drove to Ottawa to attend several of our hybrid sittings. I was especially grateful for his presence because it was a bit lonely in the chamber with our reduced numbers. He participated actively in discussions on how to manage the uncharted territory that the Senate found itself in — from extraordinary budget measures to the rules around hybrid sittings and the use of the Emergencies Act.
He made learned, thoughtful and principled contributions on these bills and made a deep impression on his colleagues, starting with me.
Brent was a team player and a highly valued member of the Independent Senators Group, or ISG. He worked closely with the late senator Judith Keating to pilot an approach to the non‑partisan, horizontal analysis of legislation, starting with Bill C-3 on the Judges Act and Bill C-7 on medical assistance in dying. They did such a good job that the ISG has institutionalized the practice of “legislative leads” on all bills, where ISG senators take responsibility for research and share their findings with other members.
Senator Cotter had been a senator for barely nine months when he took on this task, and he hit a home run on his first inning. Now, I say “home run,” but I could have used any number of other sports metaphors that Brent is fond of — whether it is curling, football or hockey. You may recall a story about how he was under the impression that he had had a very good score on a game of golf he played many years before. That score got better and better as his memory of the game became more distant, until he was reunited with the scorecard for that game, which showed a number that was rather less flattering.
I suspect Brent was being modest in his retelling of this story and that he is a better golfer than he is letting on, but that is the self-deprecating Brent Cotter that we have come to know and admire. He starts many of his speeches with a caveat about offering just a few “observations.” He then proceeds to dazzle us with his deep knowledge of the law, extensive experience in the administration of justice and his commitment to human decency.
Brent, your Senate scorecard is at the master’s level, and no amount of modesty can diminish the genuine, substantial and wide-ranging contribution that you have made to our institution.
You are a cotter pin. Those of you who know cotter pins understand that this is a humble a piece of hardware that holds together important pieces of machinery. Our cotter pin has moral clarity, intelligence, wit and wisdom — not to puff himself up but to join people and ideas so that they work well together. We need cotter pins not only in machines but also in the machinery of life. We even need them in the Senate of Canada, which is why we will miss our friend and colleague Senator Cotter so dearly.
Brent, thank you for your outsized contribution to the Senate. I wish you a happy and healthy retirement.
Honourable senators, sense of humour, integrity, friendship and family — it is an honour to rise to pay tribute to our colleague Senator Cotter. I had the pleasure of working with Senator Cotter on Bill S-269, where he was essentially the co-sponsor. When I was working with the Law Clerk’s office in the initial stages, there was some concern around Charter implications and jurisdictional issues. Suffice to say, I knew just who to call. Senator Cotter’s passion for this issue was readily apparent, and he was incredibly generous with his time considering the multitude of other roles and responsibilities he had at the time. We were all taking a turn. This senator was with me at my first press conference for the legislation and was there to field questions with me when I appeared at committee.
The strength of our colleague is not only his encyclopedic knowledge that is readily available but also his ability to explain a complex issue to you without making you feel, frankly, a little bit stupid. No doubt this is from his time as a professor at Dalhousie Law School and as the former dean of the College of Law at the University of Saskatchewan. I would always leave our conversations better for knowing something I quite simply did not know before.
We all saw this time and again when he rose to speak in the chamber, and, no doubt, we are all better for having sat through his lectures, and I mean that in the best way possible. I have no doubt that Senator Cotter will continue to share his knowledge with the world in some form or another once he’s left this chamber. You should know I am not done with him yet as I try to get the bill through the other place.
However, my fondest memory took place many miles from here, and one of my favourite moments was in Calgary on a ski hill where I had the privilege of spending time with Senator Cotter and meeting his daughter, the curler, the builder, the pillow maker, the young gal who was just so vibrant to watch in action. I was honoured to be in a Special Olympics event where both of them were present at the same time and on the same day. I will never forget that.
Thank you, Senator Cotter. I’m wishing you the very best in your retirement with your family.
