Hon. Scott Tannas: I would like to thank Senator Verner for putting this motion forward, as well as Senator Miville-Dechêne and others for their support.

Hon. Scott Tannas: Therefore, honourable senators, in amendment, I move:

That the motion be not now adopted, but that it be amended by replacing all the words after the word “That,” by the following:

“in the opinion of the Senate, Her Excellency the Governor General should take the necessary steps to revoke the honorific style and title of “Honourable” from:

(a)any former senator having been convicted of a criminal offence proceeded with by way of indictment; and

(b)former senator Don Meredith, in light of the reports of the Senate Ethics Officer dated March 9, 2017, and June 28, 2019, concerning the breaches by the former senator of the Ethics and Conflict of Interest Code for Senators, as well as the statement made in the Senate on June 25, 2020, by the chair of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration expressing regrets to the victims of Mr. Meredith’s misconduct.”.

Hon. Scott Tannas: On behalf of the Canadian Senators Group, I add my voice today in welcoming Senator Andrew Cardozo to the Senate of Canada.

When you were appointed, your biography said the following:

Andrew Cardozo is a recognized expert on public policy, a columnist, and artist. A think-tank leader, his public policy areas of expertise span Canadian government and politics . . . .

As a think-tank leader, you are known for presenting bold new ideas to address sometimes complex issues. I have no doubt that these ideas will find a welcome audience, and maybe, now that you’re inside the policy-making machine, your proposals will move forward into action.

I read with interest your November 4, 2019, article in The Hill Times, in which you provided some bold proposals to deal with a lack of representation for Alberta and Saskatchewan in policy making at the higher echelons of the Government of Canada. You recommended the appointment to cabinet of some of our Senate colleagues, right here in this chamber, from Alberta and Saskatchewan. They’re sitting here now. I sadly noted that I was not on your list. I hope to impress you in the future, and we hope that you will continue with those bold ideas that so many Canadians noticed, admired and identified with.

Welcome again, sir. Your perspective is very welcome here: It’s needed.

On behalf of the Canadian Senators Group, we all look forward to working with you.

Hon. Scott Tannas: Honourable senators, I rise to pay tribute to the late Jean Lapointe, a senator from Saurel, Quebec. He was an actor, singer, comedian and philanthropist before later becoming a senator. He was a true artist in every sense of the word.

He began his career in the arts playing characters in Quebec cabarets in the fifties, and became half of the comedic group Les Jérolas until 1974. He was also a movie and TV star with 36 acting credits, including playing Maurice Duplessis in a TV miniseries in 1978, showing that he was clearly destined to be in politics later in life. As a singer-songwriter, he recorded 18 albums, and wrote and performed some classic music known to an entire generation of young, school-aged francophones across Canada.

Throughout his life, Jean Lapointe battled personal demons with addiction. In 1982, an addiction treatment centre in Montreal was renamed La Maison Jean Lapointe for which he was a board member. To support the centre, the Jean Lapointe Foundation was founded, and today supports youth centres in Montreal and Trois-Rivières. These centres have treated over 38,000 individuals with addictions.

He was named to the Senate in 2001 and sat in this place until 2010. His personal background dominated his work in the Senate, where he introduced numerous bills to limit the location of video lottery terminals — which are highly addictive to some — to locations where gambling already occurs such as casinos and racetracks.

Senator Lapointe was an Officer of the Order of Canada. His passing is a loss for Quebec, for the arts community and for francophones across Canada.