Senator Mary Jane McCallum

Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Senator McPhedran’s Inquiry No. 6, which calls the attention of the Senate to various instruments and concepts to be explored as options for increasing accountability, transparency and fairness in the context of the Senate’s unique self-governance. This is an important and timely discussion, and I would like to thank Senator McPhedran for bringing this forward. In my remarks, the matter that I will be focusing upon is parliamentary privilege. I will…

Honourable senators, I rise today to speak in support of Senator Patterson’s Bill S-228, An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (property qualifications of Senators). I note that Senator Patterson has a sister motion before the Senate as well, Motion No. 19, which deals with the same subject matter, and I will be ardently supporting both initiatives. I would first like to commend Senator Patterson for reintroducing this legislation. I note this is our colleague’s third time bringing such a…

Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Bill C-28, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (self‑induced extreme intoxication). As is true with many in this chamber and many in the general public, I, as a First Nations woman, have substantial concern and misgivings about the haste with which we are dealing with this legislation. I do not know if there are those in this chamber who can honestly say that the Senate has done due diligence on Bill C-28. I, for one, cannot make that assertion. It i…

Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to third reading of Bill S-5, the strengthening environmental protection for a healthier Canada act. I want to acknowledge my brothers and sisters of the Tataskweyak Cree Nation. This is for you; this is your voice. Thank you to James and Anna for all their work, spirit and energy in working alongside me. I would like to begin by registering my concern on the continuous assault of the water and lands surrounding vulnerable populations and vulnerable e…

Honourable senators, I rise today to speak at third reading of Bill S-7, An Act to amend the Customs Act and the Preclearance Act, 2016, so as to register the serious misgivings that I have about this bill. I would first applaud the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence for their work on this legislation. Specifically, I would like to acknowledge their amendment to remove the arbitrary and vague threshold of “reasonable general concern” to the current iteration “reasonable…

Food as reconciliation. Harry S. Truman said, “In the long view, no nation is any healthier than its children or more prosperous than its farmers . . . .” Honourable senators, I rise today in support of Bill S-227, which seeks to establish food day in Canada. I would like to thank Senator Black for his continued and committed advocacy toward the land, soil safety and the agriculture community on Turtle Island. Farming has always been and continues to be a key part in the solution toward pro…

Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to third reading of Bill S-219. I would first like to thank my honourable colleagues for their support in having this bill sent to committee. In doing so, you helped to facilitate and hold space for youth. This case concerns a young First Nations girl named Isabella Kulak. We hold space for her and, in doing so, we also hold space for other youth. This is so for two reasons: The first is to explore and understand why that violence occurred. The second…

Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Inquiry No. 3, which calls the attention of the Senate to the positive contributions and impacts that Métis, Inuit and First Nations have made to Canada and to the world. I would like to thank our colleague Senator Boyer for introducing this inquiry, as it is of great importance that senators, and all Canadians, become familiar with the critical work done by the Indigenous peoples of Canada. I am pleased to use this inquiry to highlight the work don…

Honourable senators, I rise today to speak at second reading of S-220. I would like to thank Senator Carignan for introducing this bill, thereby giving senators the opportunity to discuss and debate bilingualism. It also gives senators the chance to confront the elephant in the room: the central question around the history of languages in Canada, their uses in the historical and current colonization of First Nations, Métis, Inuit and non-status peoples, and the effects of this continuing assimil…

Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Bill S-210, An Act to restrict young persons’ online access to sexually explicit material. I want to thank Senator Miville-Dechêne as this bill’s sponsor for her important work on this matter. This is a timely and much needed piece of legislation as there is an insidious relationship that exists between pornography and human trafficking. The catalyst of this relationship is the dangerous consumption of pornography by males/females that can lead thos…