International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation
Honourable senators, the United Nations has declared February 6 as the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. I am truly disappointed to inform you that Canada’s record on prosecuting this horrific and excruciating practice is dismal. Although the Criminal Code was amended in 1997 to include female genital mutilation as a form of aggravated assault, to date there have been no prosecutions for female genital mutilation in Canada. Twenty-five years, no prosecutions.
Quebec’s Bill 21 – Charter of Rights and Freedoms
1st Session, 44th Parliament Volume 153, Issue 13 Thursday, December 16, 2021 The Honourable George J. Furey, Speaker Justice [...]
His Highness the Aga Khan – Congratulations on the Occasion of Eighty-Fifth Birthday
Honourable senators, yesterday Ismaili Muslims residing in 25 countries around the world celebrated His Highness Karim Aga Khan’s eighty-fifth birthday. Born in 1936 in Geneva, Switzerland, His Highness succeeded his grandfather as the forty-ninth spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims when he was just 20 years old. For over three quarters of his life, His Highness has made tremendous personal sacrifices to improve the lives of Ismaili Muslims and continues to work tirelessly to improve the quality of life of all people, especially those living in less developed regions in the world.
National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women
Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to the urgent need to all violence against women and girls. As you all know, yesterday, December 6, marked a very significant day of commemoration in the fight against female violence. Thirty years and one day ago on December 6, 1989, 14 young women were killed by misogynistic, senseless and indefensible violence.
A Visit to Kent Institution
The last prison we went to in British Columbia was Kent Institution, the only federal maximum-security prison for men in the pacific region. During this visit, I was again accompanied by the tireless advocate on the rights of prisoners, Senator Kim Pate. We were also joined by Senator Marilou [...]
A Visit to Fraser Valley Institution for Women
Fraser Valley was very different from William Head. This federal prison for women has prisoners at all security levels, from minimum and medium all the way up to maximum security. I was accompanied by Senator Kim Pate, her staff member Emily Grant, her former staff member Fregine Sheehy and [...]
A Visit to William Head Institution
Recently, along with a lifelong prisoner rights advocate and my friend, Senator Kim Pate and a member from my staff, Madison Pate-Green, I had the absolute honour and privilege of visiting William Head a minimum-security prison for men, located just outside of Victoria. When I arrived at the prison, [...]
The Trials and Tribulations of Security Classification Tools in Canadian Prisons
Over the span of a week and a half, myself and several of my colleagues in the senate had the privilege and responsibility of visiting with men and women inside three of British Colombia’s federal prisons. We met with people from all walks of life. We saw women who [...]
Canada Day 2021
Throughout the past few weeks, I have been thinking a lot about how much is changing around us all. As we begin to see light at the end of the tunnel and slowly transition into our new normalcy, we realize how much has changed. For 153 years, July 1st [...]
Bill C-6: Conversion Therapy
There is a lot of conversations happening across Canada around Bill C-6, a bill that if passed, will ban conversion therapy in Canada. Provincially, since 2015, several provinces and territories, including British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Yukon have banned the practice on minors, [...]
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