2nd Session, 41st Parliament,
Volume 149, Issue 89
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
The Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, Speaker
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Hon. Mobina S. B. Jaffer: Honourable senators, today I extend warm greetings and solidarity to His Holiness the fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet, who spoke in my home province of British Columbia on Friday. He spoke about two issues close to his heart: the practice of compassion and universal responsibility.
As Canadians, we appreciate these fundamental values. The Dalai Lama has been committed to these values his entire life, and today we join with all Canadians in celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of his Nobel Peace Prize that he was awarded in 1989. We are all honoured to have the Dalai Lama as an honorary citizen of Canada.
Honourable senators, the Dalai Lama continues to promote peace and non-violence around the world. That is why we endorse his principled approach to finding a solution for the ongoing conflict in Tibet. That is why we honour him, and that is why we respect him.
I personally have met him many times, and every time I meet him, I am in awe of him for how patient he is and how focused he is to reach his goals in a non-violent way.
We call upon the Government of China to re-enter negotiations with representatives of the Dalai Lama as soon as possible.
Honourable senators, please join me in sending warm wishes to the Dalai Lama and wishing him well in his very hard work.