The Hon. the Speaker informed the Senate that a message had been received from the House of Commons returning Bill S-246, An Act respecting Lebanese Heritage Month, and acquainting the Senate that they had passed this bill without amendment.

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Hon. Senators: Question.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Are senators ready for the question?

Hon. Leo Housakos: Honourable senators, as a friendly critic of this legislation, not only am I rising to express my unreserved support for this bill, but, in so doing, I also promise not to take up the full 45 minutes of my allotted time.

I’ll start by thanking the sponsor, Senator Jane Cordy, for bringing this legislation forward, and for all of her hard work, and that of her team, in getting it to this point.

The vast majority of Lebanese immigrants came to Canada between the years of 1975 and 1990. They were fleeing the Lebanese Civil War, which drives home the point that so many immigrants have come to this country fleeing desperate situations in their homeland. They’ve come here seeking freedom, peace, opportunity and prosperity.

Like every single Canadian — arriving directly or indirectly — who has been here for years, we’ve come here fleeing either civil war or economic hardship, looking for freedom and opportunity. Of course, that is what this great country has offered to immigrants for decades and decades.

But Canada’s Lebanese communities date back much further than that. There are some who can trace their roots all the way back to the first influx of Lebanese immigrants who came through Halifax’s Pier 21 in 1880.

My own parents came through Halifax in the late 1950s, seeking refuge from a beautiful homeland but, nonetheless, one that was ravaged by civil war, economic hardship and the devastations of World War II. They came here with the dream of a better future for themselves and their children. They achieved that through hard work and perseverance.

I remember saying to my parents — and my mother, in particular, who is no longer with us; God rest her soul — “You left your country at the age of 17, and travelled halfway around the world. Many years later, what are your thoughts about your decision?” My mother said, “I’ll never trade that decision for anything in the world, and I’ll never trade this country. As a young woman in my country, I worked extremely hard; and the harder I worked, the more I remained standing in the same place. The future seemed bleak. I came to Canada with one dream: following the rules and laws and working hard. The harder I worked, the further I got.”

That is what Canada is all about to all the immigrants whom we have embraced. Of course, the Lebanese community is just one of the sums of all the parts of this great country. Like many immigrant groups, they came to this country, worked hard and contributed to the fibre of our country — they have done so culturally in terms of the wonderful Mediterranean cuisine that we all enjoy, and that has emulsified into Canadian cuisine. It doesn’t matter whether you’re Asian, South Asian, Greek, Italian, Irish or French; you put it all together, and that’s what Canada represents — the best of all that the world has to offer.

The Lebanese community has excelled as entrepreneurs. We’ve seen this from coast to coast to coast. They have added to the cultural fabric of this country. Many who fled Lebanon came to this country already being officially bilingual — they didn’t need to enrol in the French immersion program — and they blended into that fibre in terms of our bilingualism. The Lebanese community is vibrant in Halifax — in English.

[Translation]

The Lebanese community is also vibrant in Montreal — in French. It is a minority community, but one that is well integrated into Quebec, in French.

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In Canada, we have many examples of members of the Lebanese community who have excelled in all walks of life. In athletics, Nazem Kadri is an NHL hockey player and Stanley Cup champion; and Marwan Hage is a Grey Cup champion who played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. There have been many politicians of Lebanese descent. The former premier of Prince Edward Island, Joe Ghiz, was such a good premier that, years later, they elected his son as premier.

In the Parliament of Canada, in our own chamber, Senator Pierre De Bané was one of those giants from whom I learned about how to do my job in the upper chamber. Ziad Aboultaif is a Conservative member of Parliament from Alberta. Lena Metlege Diab is a Liberal member of Parliament from Nova Scotia. Fayçal El-Khoury is the Liberal Member of Parliament for Laval—Les Îles. There are so many others, including Kevin O’Leary — we can go on and on. We all recognize their great contributions.

I thank Senator Cordy for moving this bill — it is important. Some will make the argument that we already have too many heritage months and too many days, and pretty soon we’re going to run out of days. Senator Plett and I have had a couple of debates on this in private. I am of the view that our institution has to represent all the sums of our country, and we have to celebrate the contributions of every single group. If we have a multiple number of celebrations on a multiple number of days, so be it. At the end of the day, we, as parliamentarians, have to recognize and celebrate our diversity. That’s what being Canadian is all about. That is why I wholeheartedly support this initiative by Senator Cordy, and I hope that we provide it with unanimous support. Thank you, colleagues.

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

(Motion agreed to and report, as amended, adopted.)

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

Hon. Pierrette Ringuette: Honourable senators, I must admit that after hearing the excellent speech by Senator Audette, I’m a bit embarrassed to speak. However, I wanted to talk to you about what I consider to be a personal event that contributed to the discussion on the bill respecting Lebanese heritage month.

Indeed, in our small rural region of northwestern New Brunswick, we have a Lebanese family. They’re entrepreneurs, but mostly people who are dedicated to the community, volunteers at the church and members of every cultural organization. I will never forget them.

However, I want to remind some of you here today — several of you who weren’t here 10 years ago — of an event involving a potato farmer in my great region of northwestern New Brunswick.

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That potato farmer was named Henk Tepper. And Henk Tepper was imprisoned in Lebanon 10 years ago based on an extradition mandate requested by the Algerian government supposedly for a shipment of bad potatoes that was, a month after, sold to the Syrians. We have no knowledge of any Syrian who died from eating those New Brunswick potatoes.

However, since the month of May when the family came to my home and asked for my help to try to get Mr. Tepper back to Canada, I started on a journey that I never thought would bring me to so many challenges — so many personal, political challenges — in all my life. Actually, for 10 months, I hardly slept because I was going over and over in my head: What can I do? What have I missed? Where do I go from here?

The issue was that Mr. Tepper was in a Lebanese prison. And though myself and many of my colleagues in the Senate at that time made representations to our Canadian foreign affairs office and minister, there was, from my perspective, no real help provided to Mr. Tepper while in prison in Lebanon. That avenue was hardly open.

We also explored the Algerian avenue to see how we could provide proof to the Algerian government that the potatoes were not rotted. There, we bumped into another dead end because I called the senator in Algeria who was responsible for agriculture. It turned out that senator’s nephew was the Minister of Agriculture. It triggered something bizarre in my head, and I went and did all of the research for agriculture for the year before the event happened in Algeria, where I figured out that in the Algerian press there was the notion of a potato consortium in Algeria. That was another dead end.

The only option that we had was to give all the proof that we could to the Lebanese government. We managed to provide that to the Prime Minister, Minister of Justice, Attorney General and a few judges who understood the case. We did so from May going to December of that year, where myself and Mr. Tepper’s lawyer from New Brunswick went to Lebanon. Landing in Lebanon, we got the message from the Canadian embassy that we should leave Lebanon, that we had nothing to do there.

Those of you who know me certainly understand that I am more dedicated and persistent than that. The next day, we visited Mr. Tepper in his prison. Boy, he was certainly not the jolly giant that I knew the year before. But through that effort, we spent five days meeting with ministers, including the then-Minister of Tourism, who has dual citizenship. He was also a Canadian from Montreal.

Colleagues, if it had not been for the very tight relationship and mutual respect between Canadians and Lebanese, who understand and share our values, Mr. Tepper would have been sent to Algeria to never be seen again.

Two months after our visit to all of these Lebanese authorities, Mr. Tepper was given back his Canadian passport, put on a plane and sent back to Canada. That is my experience with the Lebanese community, and the values that we share and the friendship that we share.

I am very grateful to Senator Cordy to have put this bill in front of us. I hope that it will not be delayed. Don’t delay this for the sake of delaying tactics. It does not give you anything at the end of the day.

Coincidentally, it is before Christmas. I will be ever so grateful — and not only me. The entire northwest of New Brunswick wanted their potato farmer back in their community. It was because of the Lebanese authorities and friendship that they have with Canada. At least for me, I want this bill to be moved forward before Christmas as a sign of good will for this very decent human event that you did for a Canadian potato farmer. Let’s do this and get this passed before Christmas. Thank you.

Some Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

(On motion of Senator Martin, debate adjourned.)

Hon. Percy E. Downe: Honourable senators, I would be remiss if I did not rise to support this bill, given the role Lebanese immigrants have played in Prince Edward Island.

The first Lebanese immigrants arrived in my province in 1880. They were mostly peddlers who went door to door in rural Prince Edward Island, from farm to farm, often with packs on their backs. The tradition in the days was, because their farms were so remote and isolated, they would stay at the last farm overnight. The family would speak to them as best they could as the immigrants learned English, but they always explained they were coming to Canada as a land of opportunity to escape the oppression of the Turkish regime in their country at the time.

Those immigrants eventually got carts. Then in the 1940s and 1950s, corner grocery stores. Their second generation, like many immigrants to Canada, became professionals, doctors, lawyers, business people and community leaders in many aspects. I had the opportunity to work with one of those leaders, a former premier, Joseph Ghiz — Joseph Atallah Ghiz, I should say, given the bill we’re talking about. When I was active in partisan politics, Joe was the leader of the Liberal Party. We were in opposition. We were very concerned there was subtle racism. Would Islanders vote for a person of Lebanese descent, notwithstanding that Joe Ghiz had a master’s of law from Harvard, was a well-established, successful lawyer on Prince Edward Island and well-known at the time?

We were so concerned about this subtle racism that we conducted a public opinion poll, and we were very pleased. The results of Islanders’ impressions of the Lebanese community were that they were hard workers, conscientious, family oriented, did not draw any social assistance or welfare, contributed to the community and were great neighbours and friends. After we saw that poll, we realized that the racism was restricted to a very small minority. It was there, unfortunately, but it was not anywhere in the majority. When the election came up, Joe Ghiz became the first Canadian premier of non-European descent elected in Canada. We were delighted that the poll and the reality were one and the same.

I mention Premier Joseph Ghiz because his son later became premier, Robert Ghiz. We’ve had many mayors of Lebanese descent and many community leaders. I fully support this bill. The contribution of the Lebanese population of Prince Edward Island has been outstanding. We are the province we are today because of their involvement and leadership, and this bill will recognize that. Thank you, colleagues.

(On motion of Senator Martin, debate adjourned.)

The Senate proceeded to consideration of the eighth report of the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs (Bill S-210, An Act to restrict young persons’ online access to sexually explicit material, with an amendment and observations), presented in the Senate on November 15, 2022.

Hon. Jane Cordy moved third reading of Bill S-246, An Act respecting Lebanese Heritage Month.

She said: Honourable senators, as I rise to speak at third reading of Bill S-246, I acknowledge that we are meeting on the traditional and unceded territory of the Algonquin and Anishinaabe peoples.

It is fitting that I speak today at third reading of this bill, as it is still November, and Bill S-246 would designate the month of November as Lebanese heritage month in Canada. In my second reading speech, I detailed the historical events that make the month of November significant for Lebanese people, and I will not repeat that here, but I will say that last Tuesday, November 22, 2022, Lebanese people around the world celebrated Lebanese Independence Day and 79 years of independence.

On Sunday, November 20, 2022, my city of Halifax celebrated Nova Scotia’s Lebanese Heritage Month with a ceremony and the raising of the Lebanese flag in front of City Hall. I was pleased and honoured to be invited to attend the Canadian Lebanon Society of Halifax’s event this past Saturday evening, which closed out Lebanese Heritage Month in Nova Scotia with great Lebanese food and great music. These events in Nova Scotia give Lebanese Nova Scotians the opportunity to celebrate and share their culture, their history and their contributions to their home province of Nova Scotia.

When asked during committee examination of the bill about Nova Scotia’s Lebanese Heritage Month and what he envisioned a national recognition could contribute, Wadih Fares, Honorary Consul of Lebanon in Halifax, had this to say:

When Nova Scotia declared November as Lebanese Heritage Month, it had a positive impact on our community. It showed that we are seen and we are valued and, in turn, created a stronger partnership between our community and the province. Our culture and heritage are woven into the fabric of Nova Scotia, making the province stronger and more diverse, and I believe that a national Lebanese heritage month will have the same yet even broader-reaching impact.

During the committee hearing, Senator Petitclerc referred to this bill as a tool to help bring people together, and that is exactly what this bill is intended to do. It is a tool to not only show and display Lebanese culture and heritage, but also for other Canadians to learn about Lebanese culture. For it is only when we come together that we can truly get to know one another.

As Mr. Fares said during the committee hearing:

That is the most important thing. We are a multicultural country, and I think we can be a stronger and better country if we know each other better.

Honourable senators, Canada is a country made up of countless cultures and people. Senator Housakos said it very well in his second reading speech when he said:

. . . the reality of the matter is that Canada is essentially strong because of all the sums of all our parts. It is imperative that all our parts feel that Canadian family and recognition.

Mr. Fares echoed this when he spoke of being seen and feeling valued.

This is what I hope Bill S-246 will achieve as we celebrate a national Lebanese heritage month in the years ahead. I want to thank Senator Simons and the bill’s critic Senator Housakos for their speeches and support of Bill S-246 at second reading. Also, I want to thank the members of the Social Affairs, Science and Technology Committee for their work, and their excellent questions and comments, at the committee hearing.

I would also like to thank Lena Diab, Member of Parliament for Halifax West, and a prominent member of the Lebanese community in the Halifax area, without whose support this bill would not be here today.

Lastly, I would like to recognize and pay tribute to Mr. Wadih Fares for his passion and dedication — not only to the Lebanese community, but also for a lifetime of positive contributions to his adopted province of Nova Scotia.

In 1976, Mr. Fares immigrated to Canada as a student at the onset of the Lebanese Civil War with nothing more than, as he put it, “my mother’s prayers and the will to make a good life in a new country . . . .”

Mr. Fares did just that. He gained his Bachelor of Engineering degree from Technical University of Nova Scotia, and a Diploma of Engineering from Dalhousie University. He went on to form his own successful construction company, W.M. Fares Group, which many in Halifax credit with developing the skyline of Halifax over the past 21 years. He has been recognized many times over for his business acumen. He was awarded Halifax Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year, Atlantic Business Magazine’s Top 50 CEO of the Year award, and named to the Atlantic Business Magazine’s Hall of Fame. He has received an Honorary Doctorate in Commerce from Saint Mary’s University in 2009 and sits on the Dalhousie Board of Governors.

He is the Honorary Consul of Lebanon for the Maritime provinces. He also sat on the Nova Scotia minister’s Immigration Advisory Council. These are just a few of his achievements. In 2012, Mr. Fares was recognized for his entrepreneurial spirit and community service, and was invested as a member of the Order of Canada.

Colleagues, Mr. Fares is a perfect example of the entrepreneurial spirit that Senator Housakos spoke of in his speech — which drives many immigrants to carve out the best life possible for themselves and for their families. These opportunities are what our country can provide, and they are the reason that many choose to make Canada their home. Immigrants to Canada can be measured in what they give back economically, socially, culturally, philanthropically and politically.

Honourable senators, immigrants make Canada a better place for all of us. Ontario and Nova Scotia were the first provinces to officially recognize November as Lebanese Heritage Month. My hope is that Bill S-246 will pass through Parliament in a timely manner, and that next year we will celebrate as a nation alongside the 400,000 Lebanese Canadians during the first national Lebanese heritage month.

My bill is a short one, but it has the potential to make a difference to a large number of Canadians — to make them feel seen, and to make them feel valued. I hope that I can count on your support.

Thank you. Meegwetch. Shukran.

Some Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.