Hon. Rebecca Patterson: Honourable senators, today I rise in honour of National Nursing Week, which coincides with the birthday of Florence Nightingale — the founder of modern nursing — on May 12. As many of you know, Nightingale is best known as the “Lady with the Lamp,” who nursed British soldiers during the Crimean War and transformed the profession of nursing.

In Canada, the first formal nursing program was started in 1874 at the General and Marine Hospital in St. Catharines, Ontario, which is the same school of nursing that I eventually graduated from — and that’s over 100 years later, if you’re counting.

This week recognizes the outstanding contributions that nurses have made and continue to make to their communities and to Canadians. Wherever the location and whomever the patient, the one thing all nurses have in common is their unwavering commitment to making a difference not just for their patients and their families, but also for their communities and Canada, too.

We celebrate nurses who are leaders in keeping vulnerable Canadians in their homes, and walking with them as they transition through this life. Simply put, nurses are essential health care team members with their own independent body of knowledge and practice who contribute toward making Ontario, Canada and the world a healthier place.

In addition, I would be remiss if I didn’t note that military nurses have also provided care during times of conflict and peace. You see nursing officers, past and present, in the gallery as my guests today — all of whom served in Afghanistan.

Since 1885, thousands of Canadian nurses have provided compassionate care to the sick and wounded in conflict areas around the world, and now even in Canada. In 1904, nurses entered the Canadian Army Medical Corps as Nursing Sisters in France in World War I, where they were the first women in the British Empire to be designated as officers, as well as the first Canadian women to vote federally because of their status.

During the pandemic, Canadian Armed Forces Nursing Officers supported health care workers in providing care to Canadians in seniors’ homes, hospitals and Indigenous communities. They were at the forefront in providing observations and recommendations — at both provincial and federal inquiries — regarding the abysmal conditions in those seniors’ homes. I cannot thank them enough for their courage in stepping up to support our health care workers and our most vulnerable Canadians.

These examples bring us back to Florence Nightingale. She was not satisfied with merely saving the lives of those in her care. She understood the raw power and untapped potential of nursing. As said by Rawsi Williams, who happens to be a U.S. veteran and a registered nurse:

To do what nobody else will do, a way that nobody else can do, in spite of all we go through; that is to be a Nurse.

Throughout this week, let’s celebrate and recognize nurses. Thank you.