Honourable senators, I would first like to express my thanks to Senators Harder, Smith, Saint-Germain and Day for showering me with praise.

[English]

Thank you for all of your good words, honourable senators. Many of you came to see me at my new desk. I feel like I’m a student in a new school with this desk. It’s an interesting experience. Thank you very much for all of your kind words.

[Translation]

I chose to speak briefly on the day that I was sworn in. I know that doesn’t happen very often, but I was sworn in three months after I was appointed to the Senate, which is a relatively long time.

I have started reading, reflecting, meeting with colleagues and finding ways to contribute to the common good in my role as senator, which gives me the opportunity to influence public policy. I feel privileged, very privileged, to be able to participate in the new dynamic in the upper chamber, which has an increasing number of independent senators who are trying to find new ways to fulfil their duties. As with any period of change, there will be an adjustment period and mistakes will be made, but it’s up to us to find our way through.

I’m one of the 24 senators from Quebec, so I have a duty to defend the interests of the people of Quebec in our consideration of legislation. I believe that the Senate is the most logical place for me to promote the idea of a distinct Quebec, which has its own aspirations and constitutional jurisdictions while still being part of Canada. That is the essence of a federation such as ours, a political system where we in Quebec have been able to establish a nation-to-nation relationship, obtain certain powers, and grow economically and culturally, despite the tensions that exist in any political system. As a senator, I will therefore be particularly vigilant when it comes to matters involving Quebec’s jurisdictions, the French language and the vitality of linguistic minorities. I was appointed to the senatorial division of Inkerman, in western Quebec, where there is an appreciable proportion of residents who identify as Anglophones, with more than 18 per cent in the Outaouais alone.

(1610)

For the past seven years, I was a member of Quebec’s public service and I have seen up close how the Quebec government is able to manage the destiny of its own people and to shine on the international stage. My time in diplomacy was instructive. The actions around the world of a federal state like Quebec illustrate once more that this francophone society has a distinct voice. Another source of pride is the progress Quebec has made on LGBTQI rights and, naturally, gender parity.

The years I spent defending the rights of women forced me to choose to defend and protect the most vulnerable, whether it is indigenous women, immigrant women, the poorest, the less educated, homeless women, prostitutes, those I call the people forgotten by the feminist revolution. It is a cause that is important to me, and I know that many other senators share these concerns.

As is the case for many Quebecers, my relationship with Canada is complex and constantly evolving. Now that I am no longer a Radio-Canada/CBC journalist I can talk openly about it. This relationship was profoundly affected by the wounding failure of the Meech Lake Accord, which I covered and witnessed first-hand as a political journalist. I believe that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms has made it possible to make significant progress — we need only think of the right to abortion — but I am among those Quebecers who hope that conditions will one day coalesce and be favourable for Quebec to accede to the Constitution Act, 1982.

Throughout my career, I was one of those bilingual journalists who spent years outside Quebec explaining that Canada is not monolithic and also pointing out that many people consider the French language to be a treasure, a language to master, which explains the popularity of immersion classes. The long waiting lists and the shortage of French-language teachers, particularly in British Columbia, attest to that. In short, with my reporting, I tried to dispel the caricature of this country, and also of Quebec, that some wanted to present. Making distinctions, being wary of ideologies, no matter which ones, that is in my DNA. I travelled across Canada, covered francophone minorities and developed a great admiration for those who fight tooth and nail to retain their language and their services.

However, Canada is changing before our eyes, whether because of the arrival of immigrants, whose numbers will continue to grow in the future, the arrival of climate change, whose effects we are already feeling and which requires that we do our part to try to save the planet and humanity — and the debate we are having here on Bill C-69 is a good example of that — or with social inequality and the wealth gap, which undermine the very foundations of the world we live in. It is imperative that our government do more than give speeches, here and abroad, to reduce misery and to provide tools and hope to victims of violence and those who are barely surviving.

In closing, I hope I can meet these new challenges. To all my colleagues, I want to assure you that my priority will always be to work with you in the public interest. Thank you very much.