The Members convened were:

The Honourable Senators

AtaullahjanBattersBellemareBeyakBlack (Alberta)BonifaceBrazeauCoolsCordyCormierDagenaisDayDeanDuffyDupuisDyckEnvergaForestFraserFureyGalvezGoldGreeneHarderHartlingHousakosJafferJoyalKennyLankinLovelace NicholasMacDonaldMarshallMartinMarwahMassicotteMcCoyMcInnisMcIntyreMcPhedranMégieMitchellMocklerMoncionMunsonNeufeldNgoOgilvieOhOmidvarPatePattersonPetitclercPlettPoirierPratteRaineRichardsRinguetteSaint-GermainSeidmanSinclairSmithStewart OlsenTannasTkachukUngerVernerWallinWellsWetstonWhiteWoo

The Members in attendance to business were:

The Honourable Senators

AtaullahjanBattersBellemare*BernardBeyakBlack (Alberta)*BoisvenuBonifaceBrazeauCoolsCordyCormierDagenais*DawsonDayDean*Downe*DoyleDuffyDupuisDyck*EggletonEnvergaForestFraserFurey*GagnéGalvezGoldGreene*GriffinHarderHartlingHousakosJafferJoyalKennyLankinLovelace NicholasMacDonald*MaltaisMarshallMartinMarwahMassicotteMcCoyMcInnisMcIntyreMcPhedranMégieMitchellMocklerMoncionMunsonNeufeldNgoOgilvieOhOmidvarPatePattersonPetitclercPlettPoirierPratteRaineRichardsRinguetteSaint-GermainSeidmanSinclairSmithStewart OlsenTannas*TardifTkachukUngerVernerWallinWellsWetstonWhiteWoo

The first list records senators present in the Senate Chamber during the course of the sitting.

An asterisk in the second list indicates a senator who, while not present during the sitting, was in attendance to business, as defined in subsections 8(2) and (3) of the Senators Attendance Policy.

PRAYERS

The Senate observed a minute of silence in memory of those who lost their life during a tragic shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sunday, October 1, 2017, including four Canadian citizens.

Senators’ Statements

Some Honourable Senators made statements.

ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS

Tabling of Documents

The Honourable the Speaker tabled the following:

Fall 2017 Reports of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development to the Parliament of Canada, pursuant to the Auditor General Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. A-17, sbs. 23(5).—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1566.

Government Notices of Motions

With leave of the Senate,

The Honourable Senator Harder, P.C., moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Bellemare:

That the Address of the Prime Minister of Canada, the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, P.C., M.P., at the Installation of the Right Honourable Julie Payette as Governor General of Canada on October 2, 2017, together with the reply of Her Excellency the Governor General thereto, be printed as an appendix to the Journals of the Senate of this day and form part of the permanent records of this house.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

(See Appendix at pages 2437 to 2442 (available in print format PDF).)

Orders of the Day

Government Business

Bills – Messages from the House of Commons

Order No. 1 was called and postponed until the next sitting.

Bills – Second Reading

Orders No. 1 to 3 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

Motions

Order No. 1 was called and postponed until the next sitting.

Inquiries

Order No. 2 was called and postponed until the next sitting.

Other Business

Senate Public Bills – Third Reading

Ordered, That consideration of Order no. 1 be postponed until the next sitting of the Senate.

o o o

Order No. 2 was called and postponed until the next sitting.

Commons Public Bills – Third Reading

Orders No. 1 and 2 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

Senate Public Bills – Second Reading

Orders No. 1 to 4 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

o o o

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Frum, seconded by the Honourable Senator Housakos, for the second reading of Bill S-239, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (eliminating foreign funding).

The Honourable Senator Omidvar moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Moncion, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

Commons Public Bills – Second Reading

Orders No. 1 to 4 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

o o o

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Andreychuk, seconded by the Honourable Senator Seidman, for the second reading of Bill C-337, An Act to amend the Judges Act and the Criminal Code (sexual assault).

After debate,

The Honourable Senator Cordy moved, for the Honourable Senator Mercer, seconded by the Honourable Senator Dyck, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

Reports of Committees – Other

Orders No. 1, 5 to 8, 10, 12, 14 and 15, 29, 33, 40 and 50 to 54 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

Motions

Orders No. 31, 73, 89, 92, 139 and 146 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

o o o

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Merchant, seconded by the Honourable Senator Housakos:

That the Senate call upon the government of Canada:

(a) to recognize the genocide of the Pontic Greeks of 1916 to 1923 and to condemn any attempt to deny or distort a historical truth as being anything less than genocide, a crime against humanity; and

(b) to designate May 19th of every year hereafter throughout Canada as a day of remembrance of the over 353,000 Pontic Greeks who were killed or expelled from their homes.

The Honourable Senator Ringuette moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Saint-Germain, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

o o o

Orders No. 174, 189, 206, 215 and 223 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

o o o

Resuming debate on the motion, as modified, of the Honourable Senator Ataullahjan, seconded by the Honourable Senator Tkachuk:

That the Senate urge the Government of Canada to call upon the Government of Myanmar:

1.to bring an immediate end to the violence and gross violations of human rights against Rohingya Muslims;

2.to fulfill its pledge to uphold the spirit and letter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and

3.to respond to the urgent calls of the international community and allow independent monitors entry into the country forthwith, in particular Rakhine State; and

That a message be sent to the House of Commons requesting that house to unite with the Senate for the above purpose.

After debate,

The Honourable Senator Omidvar moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Moncion, that further debate on the motion, as modified, be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

Inquiries

Order No. 1 was called and postponed until the next sitting.

o o o

Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator Bellemare, calling the attention of the Senate to the Senate’s legislative work from the 24th to the 41st Parliament and on elements of evaluation.

With leave of the Senate,

The Honourable Senator Martin moved, for the Honourable Senator Andreychuk, seconded by the Honourable Senator Smith, that further debate on the inquiry be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

o o o

Orders No. 11 to 14 and 18 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

o o o

Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator Pate, calling the attention of the Senate to the circumstances of some of the most marginalized, victimized, criminalized and institutionalized in Canada, particularly the increasing over-representation of Indigenous women in Canadian prisons.

After debate,

The Honourable Senator Boniface moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Moncion, that further debate on the inquiry be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

o o o

Orders No. 20 and 23 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

o o o

Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator Wallin, calling the attention of the Senate to the proposal put forward by Senator Harder, titled “Sober Second Thinking”, which reviews the Senate’s performance since the appointment of independent senators, and recommends the creation of a Senate business committee.

After debate,

The Honourable Senator Sinclair moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Pratte, that further debate on the inquiry be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

o o o

Orders No. 25 and 26, and 28 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

MOTIONS

The Honourable Senator Ogilvie moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Stewart Olsen:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology be permitted, notwithstanding usual practices, to deposit with the Clerk of the Senate a report relating to its study on the role of robotics, 3D printing and artificial intelligence in the healthcare system, between October 20 and November 3, 2017, if the Senate is not then sitting, and that the report be deemed to have been tabled in the Chamber.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

Question Period

Pursuant to the order adopted on September 28, 2017, the Senate proceeded to Question Period.

Pursuant to the order adopted on December 10, 2015, the Honourable  Bill Morneau, P.C., M.P., Minister of Finance, entered the Senate and took part in Question Period.

INQUIRIES

The Honourable Senator Munson called the attention of the Senate to the 10th anniversary of its groundbreaking report Pay Now or Pay Later: Autism Families in Crisis.

After debate,

The Honourable Senator McPhedran moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Jaffer, that further debate on the inquiry be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

ADJOURNMENT

The Honourable Senator Bellemare moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Petitclerc:

That the Senate do now adjourn.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

(Accordingly, at 4:26 p.m., the Senate was continued until tomorrow at 2 p.m.)

DOCUMENTS DEPOSITED WITH THE CLERK OF THE SENATE PURSUANT TO RULE 14-1(7)

Report of the Standards Council of Canada, together with the Auditor General’s Report, for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F-11, sbs. 150(1).—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1549.

Summaries of the Corporate Plan for 2017-18 to 2021-22 and of the Operating and Capital Budgets for 2017-18 of the Standards Council of Canada, pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F-11, sbs. 125(4).—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1550.

Report of the Copyright Board for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, pursuant to the Copyright Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-42, sbs. 66.9(2).—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1551.

Report on the Government of Canada’s Official Development Assistance for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, pursuant to the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act, S.C. 2008, c. 17, s. 5.—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1552.

Report of the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, together with the Auditors’ Report, for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, pursuant to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-13, sbs. 26(2).—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1553.

Report on operations under the Bretton Woods and Related Agreements Act for the period from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017, pursuant to the Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. B-7, s. 13.—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1554.

Report on the applications for ministerial review (miscarriages of justice) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, pursuant to the Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46, s. 696.5.—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1555.

Report on the activities of the Courts Administration Service for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, pursuant to the Courts Administration Service Act, S.C. 2002, c. 8, sbs. 12(2).—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1556.

Report of the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, together with the Auditors’ Report, for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, pursuant to the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 49 (4th Supp.), sbs. 31(2).—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1557.

Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy of the Public Health Agency of Canada for 2017 to 2020, pursuant to the Federal Sustainable Development Act, S.C. 2008, c. 33, sbs. 11(1).—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1558.

Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for 2017 to 2020, pursuant to the Federal Sustainable Development Act, S.C. 2008, c. 33, sbs. 11(1).—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1559.

Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy of the Department of Health for 2017 to 2018, pursuant to the Federal Sustainable Development Act, S.C. 2008, c. 33, sbs. 11(1).—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1560.

Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy of the Treasury Board Secretariat for 2017 to 2020, pursuant to the Federal Sustainable Development Act, S.C. 2008, c. 33, sbs. 11(1).—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1561.

Copy of Order in Council P.C. 2017-1120 dated August 31, 2017, concerning the Order Amending the Import Control List and the summary of the intergovernmental commitment, pursuant to the Export and Import Permits Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E-19, sbs. 5(2).—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1562.

Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration for 2017 to 2020, pursuant to the Federal Sustainable Development Act, S.C. 2008, c. 33, sbs. 11(1).—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1563.

Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy of the Department of Canadian Heritage for 2017 to 2020, pursuant to the Federal Sustainable Development Act, S.C. 2008, c. 33, sbs. 11(1).—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1564.

Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy of the Canada Revenue Agency for 2017 to 2020, pursuant to the Federal Sustainable Development Act, S.C. 2008, c. 33, sbs. 11(1).—Sessional Paper No. 1/42-1565.

---

Changes in Membership of Committees Pursuant to Rule 12-5 and to the Order of the Senate of December 7, 2016

Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources

The Honourable Senator Wetston replaced the Honourable Senator Marwah (October 3, 2017).

The Honourable Senator Duffy replaced the Honourable Senator Griffin (October 2, 2017).

The Honourable Senator Marwah replaced the Honourable Senator Wetston (October 2, 2017).

Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans

The Honourable Senator Mercer was removed from the membership of the committee, substitution pending (October 2, 2017).

The Honourable Senator Pate replaced the Honourable Senator Christmas (October 2, 2017).

Standing Senate Committee on National Finance

The Honourable Senator Tannas replaced the Honourable Senator Andreychuk (October 2, 2017).

The Honourable Senator McIntyre replaced the Honourable Senator Oh (October 2, 2017).

The Honourable Senator Ataullahjan replaced the Honourable Senator Eaton (October 2, 2017).

The Honourable Senator Black replaced the Honourable Senator Woo (October 2, 2017).

Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology

The Honourable Senator Dyck was added to the membership (October 2, 2017).

_____________________________

APPENDIX

Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada,
the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, P.C., M.P.

On the installation of the
29th Governor General of Canada

Assembled Right Honourables, Honourables, distinguished guests, dear friends, 

Your Excellencies, Mr. and Mrs. Johnston, Laurier, Ms. Payette,

It is an honour for me to be here with you today as you are about to become our 29th Governor General, the representative of Her Majesty the Queen in Canada. Many Canadians already know the details of your incredible journey. It is a journey that is a testament to your talent and to the numerous qualities that make you what you are, an exceptional Canadian.

On May 27, 1999, an entire country watched with pride and emotion as you left Earth. This first trip to space sparked the imaginations of children who, across Canada, watched intently as you soared towards the stars, children who dreamed of travelling in a rocket ship and experiencing weightlessness — just like a little girl in Montreal used to dream as she watched Americans in diving suits drive a jeep on the moon on television.

Children, however, were not the only ones impressed. In a way, that day was even more significant for adults, whose dreams often tend to fade with the passing years. On that day, Canadians came to know an accomplished scientist, a fearless astronaut and, most importantly, a passionate Canadian woman whose knowledge, determination and curiosity not only made her own dreams come true, but inspired an entire country, an entire generation.

As an educator, musician, polyglot, athlete, pilot, and mom, you on multiple occasions went where very few others dared to go. A team player, a trailblazer, and a pioneer, you proved to boys and girls, men and women across this great country that the sky was in fact not the limit.

Upon her return, Ms. Payette dedicated much of her time to sharing her passion for science with Canadians and with the rest of the world. She most notably worked as a scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC, and was appointed Scientific Authority for Quebec in the United States.

Many Canadians will also remember her scientific outreach program on Radio-Canada or her time spent at the helm of the Montreal Science Centre, where she used her expertise to educate and inspire.

The list of her accomplishments goes on, and they have earned her numerous awards and distinctions not only in Canada but around the world.

Your journey through space and through life may be unique, but the qualities that underpin each and every one of your successes are not. Your numerous achievements are, above all, a testament to your hard work, discipline, and, most importantly, your passion.

Whether as Canada’s chief astronaut or as an Olympic flag-bearer, you represent the very best of what it means to be Canadian and to serve Canada with aplomb and with integrity.

Today, as Ms. Payette chooses to serve once again, she follows a long line of exceptional Canadians who helped shape our country’s history.

If you will indulge me, I would like to take a moment to address one of them, someone who will soon be Ms. Payette’s predecessor, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Lloyd Johnston.

Over the past seven years, His Excellency performed these functions with unparalleled humility and humanity. On behalf of all Canadians, I would like to offer my most sincere thanks to Their Excellencies Mr. and Mrs. Johnston for their many contributions. You helped build a stronger and better Canada. Thank you, my friends.

While Ms. Payette stands on the shoulders of giants, I have no doubt that she will carry on one of Canada’s oldest traditions by shaping this role into her own. As an agent of change and a powerful voice for progress, this two-time extraterrestrial Canadian will bring a new perspective on Canada and on its place in the world.

I look forward to working alongside Her Excellency as she continues to go boldly where few others have gone before.

Thank you.

_____________________________

Installation Speech from
Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette,
the 29th Governor General of Canada

Good morning to all of you who took the time to come here to witness this secular passing of powers that dates back to the governors of New France but that today is entirely Canadian and represents the foundation of our democracy.

I bring warm greetings from our sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II, to all Canadians. Her Majesty welcomed my son Laurier and me to her estate in Scotland just two weeks ago. She gave me the responsibility to represent her here in Canada as Governor General. I accepted this duty with humility. I know that this is going to be a tough act to follow, as I try to stumble my way in the footsteps of my predecessors, in the footsteps of a great man, Governor General David Johnston, and a great woman, Madame Sharon Johnston. Thank you for welcoming me into your family.

From my somewhat unorthodox operational past, which I share with many of you here in this room, I did not expect to be appointed as Governor General, but when duty calls, there is only one answer. I am so privileged, so honoured to have the opportunity to represent you and to speak on behalf of our wonderful country.

Prime Minister, I would like to thank you for your recommendation and for the trust you have placed in me, and if I may, I would also like to thank a proud young man sitting here, my son Laurier, who was one of my first advisers in this regard and who gave me permission. Thank you, Laurier; thank you.

I would have liked for this room in the Senate of Canada to have been larger to accommodate everyone so that we could all be together, because so very, very many of you came. However, I can assure you that we are all in this together. There are many eminent scientists in this room, and lots of great high-flyers, and they would tell you that we are inextricably bound by the same space-time continuum and we are all on board the same planetary spaceship.

Together, as the adage says, we can move mountains, can we not? With our brains and our smarts and our altruistic capability, we can indeed do a lot of good, and it is our duty to some extent to help improve the lives of people in our community, to diminish the gap in the inequities here and elsewhere. Then maybe, if we try hard to work together, we may have a chance to find the answers and we may be able to tackle global issues, serious and pressing global issues like climate change and migration, nuclear proliferation, poverty, population growth and so on, because global issues know no borders, no timeline, and they truly do need our attention.

I am an optimist but also a pragmatist. It was clear, with the success of the International Space Station, that we can always do better together than on our own. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Since November 2000, astronauts and cosmonauts from countries that here on Earth do not often see things eye to eye have been working together aboard the International Space Station, which orbits the Earth 16 times a day.

However, we rarely see the International Space Station on the front page of the newspaper, because nothing really terrible happens up there. It works. People work together from different nations for a common good. They work together and they compromise where it is needed. Somehow the International Space Station, but also big science, bring us, force us, to think not in a microcosm of nationality only, but to think in terms of what we could do to advance matters and to push the boundaries of science as partners in a collective spirit and with a peaceful intent. It is promising, is it not?

These are lessons that we can bring back to Earth more often and apply whenever possible. Of course, that is easier said than done, is it not? However, I believe that we here in Canada are in a position now more than ever to make a difference, because we are rich: rich in values, openness, tolerance, mutual cooperation and compassion, because we have decided as a people to share our gifts as much as possible, and because we believe in equality of opportunity for everyone.

I am a product of this country. I truly believe that these very fundamental values unite us all.

My father told me that my ancestor, Pierre Payette dit St-Amour, arrived on this land in 1665. He was a soldier with the Carignan regiment on the Island of Montreal. Allow me now to acknowledge and convey my admiration and profound respect for all of the men and women who choose to serve in uniform.

My ancestor, Pierre Payette, was a soldier, but later became a farmer and settled in Pointe-aux-Trembles, on the Island of Montreal. He had many children, and several generations later, my father, my brother and sister, I myself, and Laurier, the 13th-generation Canadian, were born on the Island of Montréal. A few years later, another ancestor, François Payette, became a coureur de bois. I imagine he was a good paddler. He was a trusted employee of the Hudson’s Bay Company and translated indigenous languages. François Payette left to explore the northwest of the American continent and today, in Idaho, there is a city, a county, a river, and even a national park that bear the name Payette. Clearly, I am proud of my roots, but I long ago realized that all of our ancestors, mine included, had been guided and helped by extraordinary peoples. The first nations, with their ingenuity, generosity, and courage, through mountains, forests, and waterways, opened the land for the rest of us. They were the first pioneers on this land, and they continue to be.

Indigenous peoples are pathfinders. They taught us to fight the cold and survive in it, they taught us how to appreciate the gifts of nature, and they taught us about community. It is a good thing for the well-being of our communities and the future of our children that we finally decided to listen again to their wisdom.

Reconciliation is vital for the well-being of our communities and the future of our children. Speaking of children, mention has been made of some of the things that interested me when I was young, but I understand and I know how lucky I am to have been born in this country and into this family, because it was my parents, my education, what I saw growing up, and the opportunities I was given that made all the difference. When I was young, watching the Apollo missions to the moon on television, I knew that I wanted to be an astronaut, but I did not even speak their language. That did not matter; I wanted to do what they were doing.

What mattered was that no one ever discouraged me, and later, when the Olympics came to my hometown of Montreal in 1976, I discovered a world of diversity, a cosmopolitan world, with the thrill of elite performance and the pride of representing one’s country. I wanted to be like them, I wanted to travel, I wanted to become an Olympian, but I did not have the talent. Nonetheless, I was never discouraged from trying.

When you are eight years old and you find something interesting and you want to do it, you dream about it, and then somehow as we grow older, we forget to dream and that perhaps we are able to do things that other people tell us we cannot do. To dare to dream is within us.

A few years later, at the age of 16, I received a scholarship to study at an international college in Great Britain, and thankfully, I was encouraged to go. I left with my faulty English and my two suitcases and crossed the ocean, my head full of conviction but not knowing what lay ahead.

I left Canada without a single worry in my heart because I had been given the greatest gift of all—unconditional love. When I left, I knew somehow that no matter what happened, even if I failed, they would take me back. My parents were there for me, and they still are today.

My mother, Jacqueline, and my father, André, gave me wings, and I made the most of them, I assure you. When I returned from these travels and journeys, I returned with profound convictions: that education for all is the key to all societies; that diversity is an incredible treasure; that sport, mens sana in corpore sano — a healthy mind in a healthy body — can take us very far; that we are stronger when we stand together; and that there is no magic solution in life. It is through hard work that we will move forward.

Guess what? Effort pays off. It has been an amazing journey. I am a true believer in the strength of teamwork, in the power of dreams, and in the absolute necessity of a support structure. This is the backbone of this country. This is our national fabric. I am convinced that anyone can accomplish anything and rise to the challenge as long as they are willing to work with others, to let go of their personal agenda, to reach a higher goal, and to do what is right for the common good, and I hope this is exactly what my mandate as Governor General will reflect.

One of the great privileges we have — those of us who have had the opportunity to see the Earth from above and to go into space — is to see this planet we share, all seven billion, 751 million of us here on Earth. We are all part of the human race, and we share this extraordinary world, a world that so resembles a blue marble on a backdrop of darkness, surrounded by its finite atmosphere. Borders are the invention of mankind. This Earth, this planet, is ours to pass on to future generations in good shape, and it is this notion that should guide us in all of our choices and all of our decisions. Seeing how many young people are here today, I am optimistic about the future.

Canada, we really have a lot of work to do. I think the path for us to take is to trust science, to believe that innovation and discovery are good for us, and to make decisions based on data and evidence. We are the true north, strong and free, and we should always look after those who have less, stand up for those who cannot, reach out across differences, use our land intelligently, open our borders and welcome those who seek harbour, and never, ever, cease to be curious, ask questions, and explore. Oh, and by the way, we should be happy and celebrate who we are and what we want to become.

The young people who are here in the Senate of Canada, the highest place of governance in our country, are showing us that Canada is in good hands.

My friends, aim high. Dare to dream. The sky has no limit. To a life that unites us.

Thank you.