Your name: WRITE YOUR OWN SENATOR’S STATEMENT What are senators’ statements? An important part of senators’ work is representing regions and smaller groups of people. Senators are incredibly proud of this part of their job and they love to talk about their favourite people and places! So, for 15 minutes at the beginning of each sitting day, senators get to talk about things that are important to them that aren’t on the official agenda. These short speeches — which last a maximum of three minutes — can draw the whole country’s attention to community events, the accomplishments of someone in the senator’s region or an issue that is important to the senator. These speeches are called Senators’ statements. https://youtu.be/Gl0GIsZCMkE Now it’s your turn! Deliver a Senator’s statement about something that’s important to you. You can ​ ​ ​ choose to write it or, for the full experience, make a recording of yourself delivering the statement. How to prepare 1. Read or watch one of the examples of senators’ statements on the following pages. ​ ​ ​ ● Senator Wanda Elaine Thomas Bernard’s statement on Black History Month. ● Senator Jim Munson’s statement on Autism Awareness Month. ● Senator Yonah Martin’s statement on the University of British Columbia. ● Senator Jean-Guy Dagenais’ statement on the Canadian School Boards Association. 2. Find a topic of importance to you. ​ 3. Research the topic using credible sources. ​ How to prepare your statement 1. If written, your statement should be between 250 and 400 words long. 2. If recorded, your statement must be between 2 and 3 minutes long. 3. Your statement should follow the following structure: ● Introduction — tell us what you’re going to talk about. ● Body — tell us why the topic is important using evidence from your research or anecdotes from your own experience. ● Conclusion — summarize what you’ve just said in one or two sentences. Here are a few tips to keep in mind: 1. Pick a topic you’re passionate about. What problem in society do you see that could be ​ fixed or improved? Who could you recognize for their accomplishments? What groups of people do you want to express support for? What topic do you most want to share with others? 2. Identify your message and tell us right away what it is. You don’t have much time, so get ​ straight to the point! In a sentence, write the one thing you want people to learn from your statement. Not sure what to write? Think about what you’d tell your friends — the first thing you’d want to tell them is probably your message. Be sure to repeat your message in the conclusion. Repetition helps people remember. Repetition helps people remember. 3. Use evidence to support your message. Concrete examples, personal experience and ​ statistics can help you make your point clear. But be careful — too much evidence can drown your audience in detail. 4. Keep it simple. Say what you need to say in words that everyone can understand. It’s hard ​ for your message to have an impact if the reader has to use a dictionary to keep up with you! Write your statement Chosen topic: Introduction: Body: Conclusion: Senator’s statement – Black History Month (February 27, 2020) SENATOR WANDA ELAINE THOMAS BERNARD Nova Scotia (East Preston) Independent Senators’ Group Honourable senators, it is my pleasure to stand today to acknowledge Black History Month. This year’s national theme is “Going Forward, guided by the past,” represented by the image of the Sankofa. Sankofa represents a philosophy that I have shared with many students in moments of mentorship as a valuable teaching. Sankofa is an African bird moving in one direction, glancing backwards; it represents the need to move forward without forgetting our past, our ancestors and our histories. Our past informs the present. Honourable colleagues, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Wanda Robson, the sister of Viola Desmond, over the last few years, and I am looking forward to our discussion tonight at the Canadian Museum of History. We often hear the story of Viola, the young African-Nova Scotian woman who dared to sit in the whites-only section of the movie theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. A lesser-known story is that of Wanda Robson, who, after completing her degree at Cape Breton University at the age of 76, advocated for her sister’s charges to be dropped posthumously. When we teach our children about Viola’s tenacity and strength, we should also recognize Wanda Robson for her work in fighting for racial justice through advocacy and education. The Sankofa philosophy is embodied in reparations. As we identify past harms to African Canadians caused by slavery and segregation, we connect those harms to the justice, remuneration, programming and funding owed to Canadians of African descent. This is necessary to build a strong future. Wanda Robson enacted Sankofa by advocating for the posthumous pardon of her sister. She has set an example for us by standing up against the forced segregation, false arrest and conviction of Viola Desmond. Honourable senators, Wanda Robson’s work is a form of reparations, and an incredible example of how to move forward from past harms. Join me in thanking Wanda Robson for all that she has given to us. Link to statement Senator’s statement – World Autism Day (April 2, 2019) SENATOR JIM MUNSON Ontario (Ottawa / Rideau Canal) Non-affiliated Honourable senators, I’m also privileged to stand and recognize today as World Autism Awareness Day. April 2 is a day that is very important to the autism community and is certainly important to me. I can’t imagine that 12 years ago at our Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology we released the report Pay Now or Pay Later: Autism Families in Crisis. And here we are where access and services for autism are still uneven across this country. Can you imagine, honourable senators, that there are half a million autistic Canadians? Later has arrived. The latest changes to autism services by the Ontario government are just the most recent adversity facing families in this country on the autism front. Program modifications, funding cuts, changes in the education system, government and new budgets all cause anxiety and disruption to families of children with ASD. They pay the price for this. Governments have put programs together. There has been Ready, Willing and Able by this government right now. We’ve had the Harper government do a number of things, as Senator Housakos said. We’ve had tax credits, disability tax credits and so on. But it’s certainly not enough because families are still suffering. This is not who we are as a nation. Why are we struggling to define policies and provide services in an equitable way to all Canadians with ASD? Why can’t we guarantee for most people with ASD a future lived to their true potential? Because our leaders don’t know how to listen, because our leaders are not curious enough, because our leaders don’t look at what others are doing, because our leaders don’t know what robust consultation looks like, because our leaders are working in silos, because our leaders are uncomfortable in working together in a nonpartisan way. This is an unacceptable approach by our policy-makers. Large, sweeping changes hurt families and persons with autism. The story in Ontario is not just Ontario’s story; it’s a story across the country of trying to deal with this issue. I congratulate the Ford government for putting enhancements in and announcing today that they will have consultations, but that should have happened a long time ago before announcing anything. Provinces and territories need clear direction. They need a blueprint and they need a collaborative and leadership approach with any federal government — this federal government. Sit down, think outside the box. I’m tired of standing up here each and every day talking about families who are moving to get best services, families breaking up and mortgaging their homes to get the extra services. There’s a blueprint out by the Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorders Alliance. We’re going to talk about it this evening in a room upstairs. I hope you can all join us to have that conversation, because the time is now. We really need to have this blueprint. Sorry if I lost my voice, but I’m passionate about this, and I’ll get it back, but I will never lose my voice for the families dealing with autism. Thank you very much. Link to statement Senator’s statement – University of British Columbia (March 19, 2019) SENATOR YONAH MARTIN British Columbia Conservative Party of Canada Honourable senators, as a proud alumna of UBC Class of 1987, I rise to acknowledge the delegation of brilliant students from UBC who are taking part in the inaugural UBC Women in House program. I wish to also acknowledge Moura Quayle, Founding Director of the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs of the Liu Institute of Global Affairs for her leadership and providing the human resources for the program; Professor Gerald Baier; Aaron Posehn; and Rebecca Monnerat for their dedication and staffing support. Currently ranked as one of the top 20 public universities in the world, UBC is home to more than 60,000 students, and approximately 16,188 international students from 156 countries across its Vancouver and Okanagan campuses. Most notably known for its credible research and impact in public policy, the Liu Institute of Global Affairs is an entity within UBC that is a purely research-led educational environment that fosters innovation, critical thinking, and experiential learning regarding subject areas concerning teaching and advancing global issues, sustainability, security and social justice.