Senator Mary Jane McCallum

Honourable senators, I rise today to speak on Senator Plett’s amendment to Bill C-7. I, too, am concerned about where this debate is going. It is not going in the direction that First Nations and the disability community want it to go. I’ve worked on reserve as a health professional for over 30 years. In January 2021, I went to my home reserve to provide service at a dental clinic. On my travel there, I spoke to many nurses and doctors regarding MAID. Many were unaware of this bill, just as the…

Hon. Mary Jane McCallum: Would the honourable senator take a question? Senator Cotter: I would be honoured to take a question. Senator McCallum: Thank you, Senator Cotter. I want to thank you for your powerful speech and to let you know that we are blessed to have you with us in the Red Chamber. Senator Cotter, we have heard, a number of times already throughout this debate, reference to the fact that consideration should remain firmly on the principle of this bill. This is something I’m unc…

Honourable senators, I rise today to join debate on Bill C-7, which would make amendments to the medical assistance in dying legislation. My remarks come after discussions with groups on both sides of this debate: ones that are in favour of this legislation, as well as those who have voiced concerns with the processes and procedures by which this legislation came to fruition. While I was initially inclined to support the passage of this bill, information about the consultation period, or lack th…

Hon. Mary Jane McCallum: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak in support of Bill S-207, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (independence of the judiciary). I would like to thank Senator Pate for bringing this important bill forward. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Mr. MacKenzie Cheater, a criminal law practitioner based in Winnipeg, whose support was instrumental in the crafting of this speech. I wanted to thank MacKenzie, a young man, for taking the time to walk a senior citiz…

Hon. Mary Jane McCallum: Honourable senators, I wish to speak in support of Bill S-209, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and the Regulation Adapting the Canada Elections Act for the Purposes of a Referendum (voting age), which would lower the voting age from 18 to 16. I would like to thank Senator McPhedran for not only sponsoring this bill but also for challenging me to think beyond my comfort zone, my biases and my belief that I knew what was best for our youth. As Senator McPhedran…

Hon. Mary Jane McCallum: Honourable senators, I want to start off with a prayer in my language. [Editor’s Note: Senator McCallum spoke in Cree.] Thank you, Creator, for giving me the privilege of waking another day, for giving me breath once again. Thank you for giving me the privilege of seeing Mother Earth once again because that is what we live for. If we don’t have Mother Earth, we won’t be here. Thank you for giving me the ability to come here, to stand here and to speak and to help me to…

Hon. Mary Jane McCallum, pursuant to notice of November 3, 2020, moved: That the Senate of Canada call on the federal government to adopt anti-racism as the sixth pillar of the Canada Health Act, prohibiting discrimination based on race and affording everyone the equal right to the protection and benefit of the law. Hon. Mary Jane McCallum​: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to my Motion No. 41, which asks that the Senate of Canada call on the federal government to adopt anti-racism a…

Hon. Mary Jane McCallum: Honourable senators, I want to thank Elise Hurtubise-Loranger and Charles Feldman, who are the parliamentary counsel in the Office of the Law Clerk, for their expertise, direction and help with Bill S-213. I also want to thank my staffers James Campbell and Ovadia Lawrenchuk for their help and their support. I want to acknowledge the role many women across Canada have played in championing women’s rights, including this bill. Honourable senators, I rise today to move se…

Hon. Mary Jane McCallum: A Lament for Confederation; a speech by Chief Dan George in 1967: How long have I known you, Oh Canada? A hundred years? Yes, a hundred years. And many, many seelanum more. And today, when you celebrate your hundred years, Oh Canada, I am sad for all the Indian people throughout the land. For I have known you when your forests were mine; when they gave me my meat and my clothing. I have known you in your streams and rivers where your fish flashed and danced in the sun,…

Hon. Mary Jane McCallum: I want to thank Senator Plett for starting this inquiry. I want to acknowledge the article Race, Power and Policy: Dismantling Structural Racism by the Grassroots Policy Project because I’ve grown up in institutions. When we grow up in institutions, we internalize a lot of what has been taught to us. So many times — I have to dig deep and bring that out and see that part of myself. “What can we do for you today?” I asked the patient as I put the chair down. She sat in…