Hon. Jane Cordy: Honourable senators, I am joining others in paying tribute to our late colleague Senator Judith Keating.

Senator Keating’s time with us was all too brief. Many of us did not have a chance to get to know her as well as we would have liked, since her appointment and her swearing in took place only a few short weeks before we went into the pandemic lockdown and restrictions. This drastically changed our everyday lives, including how we as senators operated and interacted with each other in the Senate.

As we adjusted to the new circumstances of how we work, it didn’t take Senator Keating very long to get her bearings. She was very active and took a lead in this place on Bill C-7, the medical assistance in dying legislation; and Bill C-3 that amended the Judges Act, which required judges to participate in continuing education on matters related to sexual assault law. Both of those pieces of legislation passed earlier this year.

Honourable senators, there will come a time when we will no longer have to say “the first woman to,” but, until that time, it is important that we recognize those who, particularly in recent history, fill those spaces. Senator Keating was one such woman. She was the first woman to serve as New Brunswick’s Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General. She was also the founder of New Brunswick’s Women in Law.

In 2020, Senator Keating was one of 36 senators to sign a letter in support of Clinic 554 in Fredericton, which was facing a threat of closure. Senator Keating argued that the Province of New Brunswick was constitutionally obligated to provide medical care for women and to ensure that those services continued. This example highlights Senator Keating’s sharp legal mind and considered approach to the application of law.

Other highlights of her legal career include time spent as editor-in-chief of the Solicitor’s Journal of the Canadian Bar Association as well as serving as chief legal adviser to several New Brunswick premiers of varied political stripes. She was widely recognized and appreciated as a leading legal and constitutional expert.

Insightful and tenacious, Senator Keating unquestionably made her mark in the Senate in a short period of time under unprecedented circumstances. We should all regret her future accomplishments that are now left unfulfilled. New Brunswickers and indeed all Canadians are poorer for her loss.

On behalf of my colleagues in the Progressive Senate Group, I extend my deepest condolences to Senator Keating’s family and friends. Thank you.