The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Honourable senators, when shall this bill be read the third time?

(On motion of Senator Housakos, bill referred to the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Moncion, seconded by the Honourable Senator Sorensen, for the third reading of Bill S-252, An Act respecting Jury Duty Appreciation Week.

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

(Motion agreed to.)

(At 5:19 p.m., the Senate was continued until Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at 2 p.m.)

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, I note that this item is also on day 15, and with leave of the Senate, I’d like to take adjournment for the balance of my time.

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

(Motion agreed to and report adopted.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator Coyle, calling the attention of the Senate to the importance of finding solutions to transition Canada’s society, economy and resource use in pursuit of a fair, prosperous, sustainable and peaceful net-zero emissions future for our country and the planet.

The Hon. the Speaker: Is leave granted, honourable senators?

Hon. Leo Housakos: Honourable senators, with leave of the Senate, I would like to take the adjournment of the debate in my name.

The Hon. the Speaker: Is leave granted, honourable senators?

The Hon. the Speaker: Is leave granted, honourable senators?

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

(Motion agreed to.)

(At 9:30 p.m., the Senate was continued until tomorrow at 2 p.m.)

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Honourable senators, I see two senators rising, probably for questions. It is now four o’clock. Senator Gold has unlimited time. We will pick this up, with the questions, at the next sitting.

(Debate adjourned.)

(At 4 p.m., pursuant to the order adopted by the Senate on September 21, 2022, the Senate adjourned until 2 p.m., tomorrow.)

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate) moved second reading of Bill C-232, An Act respecting Arab Heritage Month.

He said: Honourable senators, I’m pleased to rise today as the Senate sponsor for Bill C-232, which would designate the month of April as Arab heritage month. Introduced in the other place by MP David McGuinty, the bill passed unanimously on March 28 of this year and is now here before this chamber.

Heritage months give Canadians the opportunity to celebrate their diversity and to engage in dialogue about their culture and that of others. We already celebrate several other months: Tamil, Irish, Asian, Caribbean, Italian, Portuguese, Islamic, Black, Sikh, Jewish, Indigenous, Filipino, German, Hispanic or Latin American and, of course, Women’s History Month. In the coming weeks, I hope we can all vote to add Arab heritage month to this important list.

The first Arab immigrant to arrive in Canada was Ibrahim Abu Nadir, who settled in Montreal in 1882, some 140 years ago. Since then, the Arab communities in Canada have grown to over 1 million people. They are our neighbours, friends and colleagues. They are our teachers, nurses, doctors and lawyers. We eat in their restaurants, shop in their stores, dance to their music and read their books. Simply put, we share a life together in our great country.

Colleagues, it is fitting, proper and timely that we recognize the important contributions that Canadians of Arab origin make to our country — contributions that have been and continue to be remarkable in all sectors of Canadian society. But it’s also important that we hear about their lived experience as they seek to build their lives in Canada. Recognizing April as Arab heritage month will give all Canadians the opportunity to do just that.

Many Canadians of Arab origin are very well known to Canadians even though not everyone may realize their backgrounds. Think of actor Keanu Reeves, rapper Belly, singer Zaho, comedian Rachid Badouri in my province and — and here I date myself, colleagues — pop stars Paul Anka and Andy Kim. There are politicians, such as premiers Joe and Robert Ghiz of Prince Edward Island, and the many past and current parliamentarians in both the House and here in this chamber.

There are business leaders such as Ablan Leon, who founded Leon’s furniture company in 1909, or media personality Kevin O’Leary; journalists such as Mohamed Fahmy and Nahlah Ayed, both award-winning war correspondents and authors; and, of course, Giller Prize winner and internationally acclaimed author Rawi Hage. There are athletes such as NHL veteran Nazem Kadri and Fabian Joseph, former captain of Canada’s men’s national ice hockey team and winner of two Olympic Games silver medals. The list goes on and on.

There are countless more Canadians of Arab origin whose contributions are equally impressive, but they are not as well known to the public, if indeed they are known at all. So let me take a few minutes to tell you about three people whom I have come to know and why they have made me proud to be the Senate sponsor of this bill.

Amal Elsana Alh’jooj is a graduate of McGill University with a doctorate in social work, and she’s the former executive director of McGill’s International Community Action Network. Born in an unrecognized Bedouin village in Israel’s northern Negev, Amal is a determined advocate for the rights of Bedouins in Israel, for the rights of women within Bedouin communities and an active promoter of peacebuilding between communities both here in Canada and abroad. Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005, Amal has been the recipient of numerous awards for her human rights work. She has resided permanently in Montreal since 2012.

I first met Amal well over 20 years ago in connection with some philanthropic work I was doing on behalf of the Montreal Jewish community. I had the privilege of being part of several groundbreaking projects that she had initiated, and our working relationship quickly blossomed into a true friendship. Amal has taught me a great deal — about courage, about perseverance and, most of all, about how one person can affect real change both at home and globally. Her work here in Canada and abroad should serve as an inspiration to all who aspire to making our country and our world a better place.

[Translation]

The second person that I want to talk about is Karim Benyekhlef, a professor at the University of Montreal’s faculty of law. Although he is not really known outside legal circles, he makes an important contribution to our country.

Karim is a world-renowned academic and innovator in the area of access to justice. In 1995, he founded the very first French online legal journal, Lex Electronica. He established the Cyberjustice Laboratory in 2010 and is currently its director. He is also leading a national and international project that seeks to put AI to work for defendants and justice system stakeholders in order to improve access to justice. Also, at the invitation of Justice Canada, he will represent Canada in the Canada-Europe dialogue on the digitalization of justice systems.

I met Karim for the first time over 30 years ago when I became a director on the board of the University of Montreal’s research centre for public law, where I spent a sabbatical year in the 1980s. I got to know him even better during the eight years he served as the director of that research centre. I was, and still am, awed by his intelligence, his productivity and, most importantly, his commitment to exploring and promoting technology to improve access to justice for Canadians.

[English]

Finally, let me tell you about Khalid Elgazzar, a Canadian lawyer, indeed an Ottawa lawyer, of Egyptian origin, whom I met when I was the Senate sponsor of Bill C-59, An Act respecting national security matters.

I was introduced to Khalid by the father of a young boy who had been placed on the no-fly list when he was a young child — not because of anything he did or any threat he posed, simply because of his name. While travelling with his father, Sulemaan, to see his beloved Montreal Canadiens play the Maple Leafs, Adam Ahmed, a young boy, was flagged as a possible security threat. He was six years old. This happened a second time four years later, on another trip to see his favourite hockey team.

Now, Adam’s father, Sulemaan, was one of the founders of the #NoFlyListKids group, which was a grassroots coalition determined to get the government to introduce changes to Canada’s Passenger Protect Program that were embodied in Bill C-59.

Khalid Elgazzar was their legal counsel and partner. For four years, he worked with them behind the scenes, pro bono, as they sought to remedy an injustice suffered by thousands and thousands of Canadian kids. Sulemaan tells me that Khalid was critical to their success in achieving their goal.

But Khalid’s commitment to help his fellow Canadians didn’t end there. He was also part of Conquer COVID-19, a grassroots initiative that succeeded in delivering more than 3 million items of personal protective equipment into the hands of front-line health workers and vulnerable communities during the very early months of the pandemic.

Although he is unknown outside his own personal and professional circle, Khalid’s commitment to social justice and to helping his fellow Canadians provides one more example of why this bill is so important.

Thus far, I have focused on a fraction of some of the many contributions made to Canada by Canadians of Arab origin, but there is another side to this story, a less flattering side and one that speaks to the individual experience of many Arab Canadians as they seek to integrate into Canadian life — a lived experience that further testifies to the importance of this bill.

All immigrants face difficulties and hardships when they arrive in a new country. Such was the case for those who came from Arab countries or the Maghreb or elsewhere. They and their children struggled against discrimination and exclusion in housing, in employment and in their day-to-day lives. But since the events of 9/11, the obstacles they face have increased, with attacks on individuals, on community centres and places of worship, a far-too-common reality for far too many.

Heritage months are primarily designed to celebrate culture, but they can serve to remind us of how easily a culture can be misrecognized and marginalized. Workable multiculturalism requires that we stay vigilant.

In my work with Ensemble pour le respect de la diversité, a not-for-profit organization in Montreal, we have, for over two decades now, been committed to combatting anti-Arab prejudice. Ensemble’s team of experienced educators works with thousands of students every year to help them understand the repercussions of these prejudices and stereotypes on our fellow citizens and to provide support to those Arab Canadians who are the victims of bullying and stereotyping in our schools.

Recognizing April as Arab heritage month will give Canadians of Arab origin a chance not only to share and to showcase their culture with us but also to raise our awareness of the struggles they continue to face as they seek to make their lives in Canada.

Colleagues, we often talk about how diversity is our strength in Canada as a country, and I believe fervently that this is so, but for this diversity to be fully appreciated, for Canada to grow even stronger, we must create opportunities to learn about others and from each other as well.

Passing this bill represents one such opportunity. As eminent Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor reminds us, the recognition of our differences is not a simple courtesy we owe people; it is a vital human need. In implementing Arab heritage month, we recognize how integral Canadians of Arab origins have become to our Canadian identity.

I would like to conclude by reading into the record a quote from my dear friend Amal, which she provided to me yesterday. I will adjust it because I was to have spoken to this yesterday.

Yesterday, Tuesday, was, she writes:

. . . Mother’s Day in the Arab world. The value of family, and especially the mother, is the foundation of Arab society. Marking April as Arab Heritage Month gives us — Arab Canadians — the opportunity to share our culture and talents with the general Canadian public, not only to learn, but also to celebrate with them.

Colleagues, as we fast approach the month of April, I ask you to join me in giving this bill speedy passage so that we may all participate in Arab heritage month this year. Thank you, colleagues.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, when shall this bill be read the second time?

(On motion of Senator Gold, bill placed on the Orders of the Day for second reading two days hence.)

The Hon. the Speaker informed the Senate that a message had been received from the House of Commons with Bill C-232, An Act respecting Arab Heritage Month.

(Bill read first time.)

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, when shall this bill be read the second time?

(On motion of Senator Gold, bill placed on the Orders of the Day for second reading two days hence.)