The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Dr. Linda Hunter, Lori Lowery and Madison McSweeney. They are the guests of the Honourable Senator Sorensen.

On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the Senate of Canada.

Hon. Karen Sorensen: Good afternoon, âba wathtech.

Honourable senators, I rise today in reply to the Speech from the Throne, my first speech in this chamber.

I was appointed in July 2021 and sworn in on November 22. As I begin, I am reminded of the advice I was often given by my father. He said, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” The pressure’s on.

I’ll add that my dad would be so very proud of this moment. When I video-called my mother, 92 years young, to tell her the exciting news about my appointment to the Senate, I started with, “So I had an interesting call the other day from Prime Minister Trudeau.” Her eyes widened, and in her very concerned mother tone she replied, “What did he want?” Being my mom, she thought perhaps he was calling me for some sage advice. However, if he were to call anyone in my family for sage advice, he would first ring up my mother.

I was raised in Orangeville, Ontario, but for two thirds of my life I have been fortunate to live in the town of Banff, an incorporated Alberta municipality located in Banff National Park, the birthplace of Canada’s envied national park system, Canada’s most popular national park and one of the country’s top international tourism destinations.

[Translation]

I like to say I got involved in public service out of love. Love of the mountains brought me west. I first saw the splendour that is Banff on a family vacation when I was 13. I stood atop Sulphur Mountain and told my parents, “I’m going to live here one day.”

Like so many young Canadians, I headed west after university. I met a local Banff boy, and well, I know a good thing when I see it, so I married him. We raised our sons in Banff and built a successful business, and I pursued my first fulfilling career in tourism and hospitality.

[English]

And love for my sons led me to become a school board trustee because I wanted to be involved in their education. Love for my community and for the national park led me to run for local office, first as a town councillor for two terms and then as mayor, which I was for three terms. I wanted to be involved in strengthening the resilience and sustainability of my community and its residents while remaining faithful to the national park mandate and vision.

Love for my beautiful province, the land and its people, and love for my country led me to submit my application to the Canadian Senate. I am 62 years old, and this will be my fourth career.

To have this opportunity full of new experiences and learning in a role where I can continue to serve fills me with gratitude. I am so grateful to the Selection Committee, who put my application in front of the Prime Minister. I am grateful to Prime Minister Trudeau for recommending my appointment to join this incredible group of colleagues.

Every time I read a bio or hear one of you speak, I think, “Wow, that is a super accomplished human,” and it is an honour to serve alongside you. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge Senator Paula Simons, who has been so generous with her time and ear throughout the appointment process and who sponsored me as I was sworn into this chamber. I also thank Senators Gold, Cordy, Plett, Tannas and Woo for their very kind comments on that day. I deeply appreciate your warm and sincere welcome. To all my Senate colleagues, every single senator I have spoken with has been kind, helpful and welcoming. I also want to give a shout-out to my experienced and knowledgeable EA, JoAnna Komarnicki, who previously worked with Senator Doug Black and has kept my head above water often in these early days. And recently, Madison McSweeney has joined us from the other place, as we like to call it.

I’d like to take a moment to thank my family: Carsten, my husband and partner of 33 years, and our sons — Bjerre, the boy Carsten brought with him into my life — and Eric and Connor, who are by far the greatest things I have ever produced. Nothing I achieved over the years would have been possible without their unwavering support. But of all my family and extended family, my daughter-in-law Shayla perhaps absorbed my appointment to this chamber most personally. Shayla is the great-great-granddaughter of Senator James Gladstone, Akay-na-muka, Many Guns, the first status Indian to be appointed to the Senate of Canada. He was of the Kainai Blackfoot, who are one of the peoples of Treaty 7.

The town of Banff is located on the side of Eyarhey Tatanga Woweyahgey Wakân, or Sacred Buffalo Guardian Mountain, in the traditional territory of the people of the Treaty 7, shared with us by the Stoney Nakoda Nations of Chiniki, Wesley and Bearspaw; Blackfoot Confederacy of the Siksika, Kainai and Piikani Nations; the Tsuut’ina First Nation; the Métis Nation of Alberta Region 3; and long shared with Kootenay and Shuswap.

I respectfully and sincerely acknowledge Treaty 7 territory. We are all treaty people, and we are on a lifelong journey toward reconciliation. We have the opportunity and the responsibility to learn about and sincerely understand our history and the spirit and intent of all treaties. Going forward, we honour the truth of the past, are aware of the present and build an equitable future based on friendship and respect as we travel the path to reconciliation.

I have two areas I’d like to highlight in relation to the Speech from the Throne that opened this Parliament on November 23, 2021. It stated:

. . . growing the economy and protecting the environment go hand in hand.

By focusing on innovation and good, green jobs, and by working with like-minded countries — we will build a more resilient, sustainable, and competitive economy.

The goal is to grow the economy that works for everyone. I believe investing in the tourism industry can help achieve that goal. As Canada’s largest service export industry and employer of nearly 1 out of every 10 workers, a healthy tourism industry is integral to the nation’s successful economic future. Throughout all my careers, I have been and will continue to be a vocal advocate for our nation’s tourism industry and all the supporting sectors that make up the visitor economy. I believe tourism represents one of the best forms of sustainable economic activity to be pursued. It builds and supports strong and resilient communities, innovative start-ups, small businesses and employment, and it can be achieved hand in hand with protecting and conserving the environment — particularly the very destinations in our country that attract visitors from around the world.

Tourism is also a vehicle for Indigenous peoples to share their vibrant cultures and educate Canadians about our shared history. Traditional customs have survived concerted assimilation attempts. Experiencing first-hand incredible Indigenous art, performances and storytelling is essential for learning the truth on the road to reconciliation.

And, of course, we all have a stake in protecting our environment and ensuring future generations have access to these lands.

Tourism operators across Canada have been on the leading edge in greening their operations and supporting conservation. Ecotourism is a sustainable model that allows guests to directly interact with nature, providing a much-needed reminder that our natural world is worth preserving.

[Translation]

I am passionate about all of Canada’s national parks, and deeply proud of those located in Alberta. Our national parks system is a proxy for our country’s strong commitment to the preservation of our natural world. It provides meaningful opportunities for Canadians, and international visitors, to connect with these special places, and strengthen our national resolve to protect them in perpetuity. In my opinion, access to our national parks is a fundamental right of all Canadians.

[English]

Essential then, in growing the tourism industry that works for everyone, is ensuring our national parks system remains resilient, maintains ecological function and continues to be a global example of environmental leadership.

I am very excited to be co-chairing the newly formed, non‑partisan Parliamentary Tourism Caucus to advocate for this industry that personally raised me. My goal is to highlight tourism and give it the recognition it deserves as a crucial and prosperous industry in Canada with the benefit of showing off this great country and what we represent: fresh air, clean water, cultural richness, diversity, acceptance and friendly residents. I look forward to debate and discussions around rebuilding tourism in Canada.

Some of you may have heard me identify as a senator from Alberta in the context of the Alberta Rockies specifically, the region from Jasper National Park through Banff National Park into Kananaskis Country and south to Waterton Lakes National Park. The Alberta Rockies are my home, and my life experiences there have brought me here. I do not place a higher regard on the priorities of these areas ahead of other regions in the province. However, I believe a significant portion of environmental and economic assets, including tourism, for the entire province begins in the Alberta Rockies.

I believe that the speed of hydrological changes occurring in the Rocky Mountains due to the climate crisis is the single greatest threat to the well-being of all Albertans.

There is a statement in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report that has resonated with me. During the TRC process, traditional knowledge keepers counselled that reconciliation must also be with the natural world. Elder Reg Crowshoe said, “. . . reconciliation is incomplete if human beings resolve problems between themselves and continue to destroy natural world.”

This brings me to my second matter of concern. The Speech from the Throne included the following statement:

Our Earth is in danger.

From a warming Arctic to the increasing devastation of natural disasters, our land and our people need help.

We must move talk into action and adapt where we must.

We cannot afford to wait.

I live at the doorstep of the Rocky Mountain headwaters: the cradle of life to 194 of Alberta’s rivers, and home to the country’s water towers for humanity, otherwise known as glaciers. Under a medium emission scenario, Canada’s western mountain glaciers are forecasted to lose 74% to 96% of their volume by 2100. That is just 78 years from now. I have personally borne witness to a significant depletion of glacier ice in my 35 years of living in Banff.

My first job, after I moved west, was at the Athabasca Glacier in 1979. It is a dramatically different place today. While deglaciation can be considered a natural occurrence at the end of an ice age, the current rate of glacier retreat is alarming.

We know that water is the basis of all life. Without water, there is no other resource or pursuit that makes life sustainable or even possible. As Jacques Cousteau said, “We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one.”

It seems appropriate to comment here that while water security is often seen as a natural and basic human right for Canadians, Indigenous communities continue to be at risk. Although the federal government committed to work at this unresolved matter, in a 2021 report the Auditor General revealed a significant lack of progress in ensuring Indigenous communities have access to safe drinking water. We must move talk into action and move faster.

The rapid loss of glacier ice due to climate change is causing irrevocable impacts both in the alpine and downstream to Alberta’s fresh water supply. The consequences of these impacts should be topmost in our minds when discussing climate change, especially the speed at which we are turning policy into action.

Integral to this is the urgent need to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and be nature positive. The nature crisis is deeply linked to the climate crisis. Biodiversity is essential to maintaining life on the planet, and its severe degradation is not only a result of climate change, it is worsening it.

We must reconcile with the natural world.

My intention as one of the newest members of the Senate of Canada is to help bring attention to water security, highlight the downstream effects of accelerated deglaciation due to climate change and promote the goal of restoring biodiversity and a return to a nature-positive state.

As someone who supports a reformed Senate, I can assure my colleagues that I am not influenced by partisan politics. In fact, in my career as mayor and councillor, I have worked easily with politicians and administrators from all parties at all levels of government.

My contributions will come from my affinity and, if I may, my proficiency in asking questions, seeking out knowledge and building consensus. They come from a desire to always ensure the policy options we pursue balance the environmental, economic and social well-being of Alberta and all Canadians. They come from a genuine passion for public service. Thank you for your attention. Ishniyes.

(On motion of Senator Gagné, debate adjourned.)

[Translation]

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Mégie, seconded by the Honourable Senator Audette, for the third reading of Bill S-209, An Act respecting Pandemic Observance Day, as amended.