Hon. Raymonde Saint-Germain: Dear colleagues, as this fall session comes to a close, I have mixed feelings of sadness and optimism. First, I would like to express my condolences to our colleagues who lost family members this year. My thoughts are with the families of our three colleagues who passed away: Senator McCoy, Senator Keating and Senator Forest-Niesing. I am also thinking of our colleagues who can’t be with us at present because they are ill.

I would also like to highlight, as Senator Housakos just did, the service of an eminent colleague who will be leaving us early in the new year. Senator Ngo served this institution for 10 years with elegance and distinction. Senator Ngo, I will miss your elegant turns of phrase, particularly in the language of Molière. We wish you all the best for a satisfying retirement.

Dear colleagues, this ongoing pandemic has not allowed us to serve our fellow Canadians as well as we would have liked. We have to acknowledge that it also made it harder to hold our debates. It definitely hampered relations and discussions in the Senate Chamber and in the committee corridors. These discussions are important for collegiality and the quality of our working relationship. That is the harsh reality, but the silver lining is the optimism now being expressed in these end-of-year greetings.

We have accomplished a lot, despite everything, to serve the cause of justice and peace in our country and around the world. That is our duty, a duty the Chair reminds us of every day in our moment of reflection at the beginning of the sitting. That is why, on this positive note, I want to acknowledge some of our accomplishments on contemporary issues over this pandemic year, 2021. These accomplishments are having a major impact on the lives of Canadians. I am thinking about the bill that became law on medical assistance in dying, the bill on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the creation of a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and, more recently, the ban on conversion therapy. I won’t keep going, but there are other major accomplishments that we should celebrate as this fall session comes to an end.

That said, colleagues, we must not let this pandemic get the better of our democracy. I have faith that we will be able to put technology to good use and agree to meet as often as we can, both in the Senate and in committee, for as long as necessary. I suggest that we make this a group New Year’s resolution. I truly hope that we can keep this resolution in 2022 and that it won’t end up like other resolutions to diet or work out five times a week. I am all the more confident that we will keep this resolution based on what I have heard here today, about the importance of properly fulfilling our role as the chamber of sober second thought.

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I will conclude by thanking all those who work every day behind the scenes with competence and dedication to help us fulfill our demanding mandate. To those in the Senate Administration, in our chamber and committees, and our staffers as well; to all of you, our deepest gratitude.

On behalf of the Independent Senators Group, I wish everyone a happy holiday season as well as a safe and peaceful resting time. Thank you.