Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette listened to them when few others would and now over a hundred Chalk River nuclear plant workers are closer to receiving compensation after being exposed to radiation in the 1950s.
Serving in the Senate for 21 years, Senator Hervieux-Payette won her latest victory in March when her motion to award money to affected Atomic Energy of Canada Limited workers was adopted by the Senate.
Senator Hervieux-Payette sees it as a matter of fairness for these employees.
“When you treat people fairly, it is reassuring for other cases and other circumstances,” she said.
In 1952, an explosion at the Chalk River nuclear reactor caused a major radioactive leak. Six years later, a fire contaminated the access areas in the generating station. Energy employees were the first to begin the decontamination work before the armed forces arrived to take over.
Members of the military received $24,000 in compensation in 2008, but civilian workers were left with nothing.
Approved by the Senate, the motion is now in the hands of the government.
This was by no means her first win. She recalled committee work that led to better regulation of Canada’s banks. The 2008 economic crisis tore through the global economy — but Canada emerged relatively unscathed thanks largely to these regulations.
Senator Hervieux-Payette also cited another memorable moment in her career: the study of physician-assisted dying in the 1990s, years before the Supreme Court’s recent decision.
“We are often ahead of the issues instead of lagging behind, and we can look at things objectively,” she said.
Asked about the independence of Senators, she does not skip a beat.
“We need to be able to discuss issues substantively, not based on instructions from the House of Commons.”
“We have a duty to be independent.”