Hon. Leo Housakos: Honourable senators, I have the pleasure to welcome and pay tribute to two very special individuals who are guests in this chamber today.

I will begin with Mr. Enes Kanter Freedom, a professional NBA basketball player, activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee. In the last few years, Mr. Freedom has received international attention for using his platform as an NBA star to bring attention to the human rights abuses being committed in China.

That said, his activism predates his career in the NBA, as he has previously been targeted for speaking out against President Erdoğan’s human rights violations in Turkey where he was raised. It was his outspoken criticism of the Chinese Communist regime and the Western companies that continue to aid and enable China’s genocidal practices that caught the attention of millions of people around the world.

Mr. Freedom has been a leading voice for the rights of Uighurs, in particular, and also for those of Tibetans, Hong Kongers and others. Despite the unfair targeting and treatment he has been subjected to by the NBA and others as a result, Mr. Freedom continues to push forward with integrity in his fight for what is right.

In response to his well-deserved nomination for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, Mr. Freedom stated, “Sometimes taking a stand is more important than your next paycheck.”

It is fair to say while his on-court talents are noteworthy, his off-court talents are even more so.

I would also like to pay tribute to Mr. Orkesh Davlet, who is also here today. Mr. Davlet played an instrumental role in the organization of the student uprising in the Tiananmen protests of 1989, having founded an independent students’ association at Beijing Normal University and emerging as one of the most outspoken student leaders. Following the protests, Mr. Davlet was placed on the number 2 spot of China’s most wanted student leaders list.

Facing arrest by the Chinese government, he fled to France under the Hong Kong-based operation known as “Operation Yellow Bird.” He later made his way to the United States where he studied, and eventually emigrated to Taiwan where he built his life and family and where he currently sits as chair on the Human Rights Commission in the Taiwanese parliament.

Mr. Davlet continues to devote his life to his activism and remains a defender of Taiwan’s growing democracy and a promoter of civil society.

Colleagues, these are two remarkable individuals, and it is my hope that their presence in this chamber today acts as a reminder of our responsibility to do what is right when it comes to defending and upholding our principles here at home and around the world. As parliamentarians, we have the tools needed to stand up to malign regimes like the CCP, and we must do more to exercise our role and responsibility as defenders of democracy, freedom and human rights.

Everyone has an example to draw from Mr. Freedom and Mr. Davlet, and it is an honour to welcome them here today and thank them for their outspoken courage and activism. Thank you.

Hon. Marty Klyne: Honourable senators, I rise today to celebrate an incredible investment in Canadian farmers for the benefit of all Canadians.

Recently, Protein Industries Canada, or PIC — one of the five Innovation Superclusters sponsored by the Government of Canada in a consortium of private-sector companies — announced a $19 million investment deal that will help reduce carbon emissions and improve environmental sustainability, all through the commercialization of Soileos, a new micronutrient fertilizer.

If you haven’t heard of it before, Soileos is an environmentally friendly fertilizer created from the upcycling of pea, lentil and oat hulls. It is sustainable, non-polluting and can help increase crop yields. It is an innovative new product, and according to Protein Industries Canada, initial field trials led to improved protein content in soil health, increased returns for farmers and reduced environmental damage.

Companies who are part of this investment include AGT Food and Ingredients Inc., Lucent Biosciences, NuWave Research, IN10T and Aberhart Ag Solutions. These are private-sector companies both large and small, working together with a federal supercluster to make good things happen for Canadians. As a result of this investment, a new manufacturing plant will be built in Rosetown, Saskatchewan. When completed, this facility will produce up to 6,500 tonnes per year of micronutrient fertilizer and create 25 new jobs for the community. That is incredible.

Honourable senators, this is great news for the agricultural sector. It is an important investment in our farmers and in the people of Saskatchewan and of Western Canada. At a time when food security is top of mind for all Canadians and supply chains are being threatened, we need to do everything we can to support our agricultural sector here at home. This investment does exactly that, and I wish Protein Industries Canada and its industry and academic partners every success as they embark on this and many more new innovative solutions.

I encourage Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada to continue to support PIC’s continued evolution and progress. I hope Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada take stock and promote this innovation with great pride. Thank you.

Hon. Salma Ataullahjan: Honourable senators, I stand today to speak on the anniversary of the London attack to remember the beautiful Afzaal family in London, Ontario, a grandmother, mother, father and a 15-year-old girl who were murdered simply because they were Muslim. A 9-year-old boy was hospitalized in serious condition and now finds himself orphaned, his whole family — three generations — having been stolen from him by hate.

The nature of the attack is shocking, but unfortunately it is not surprising. This is not the first time I have spoken about the rise of Islamophobia, and I fear it will not be the last. As government leaders, we regularly condemn Islamophobia, but this alone is not enough. It is time for concrete action rather than empty apologies or thoughts and prayers.

After the attack, many expressed their horror and outrage. A National Summit on Islamophobia was held the following month, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated the government’s solidarity with Muslim communities across Canada and its commitment to combat and denounce Islamophobia and all forms of racism and discrimination.

Sadly, I worry that this must have been an electoral ploy. Let’s not forget that a year later, the promise of a special envoy for Islamophobia has not been fulfilled, and yet I’m sure there is a suitable candidate among the 1.5 million Muslim Canadians across the country. Two months ago, five men were attacked in a drive-by shooting in Scarborough while leaving Ramadan prayers at their local mosque. And only a few weeks ago, two teenage girls were verbally and physically assaulted in St. John’s outside their place of work. These were high school students — really young girls.

Sadly, these events are not isolated as there has been a steady increase in Islamophobia since the beginning of the pandemic. Sobia Shaikh, chair of the Anti-Racism Coalition of Newfoundland and Labrador, shared that she hears about similar incidents every six weeks or so.

Honourable colleagues, xenophobic views have gone beyond online threats and abuse and have translated into hate-motivated physical harm. We need to act now before such Islamophobic attacks become normalized. We owe it to the Afzaal family and Muslim Canadians who continue to live in fear every time they leave their homes. Thank you.

Hon. Mary Jane McCallum: I would like to thank Senator Tannas and the Canadian Senators Group for giving me space so we can celebrate the graduates of the world’s first Indigenous law program.

On Saturday, April 9, 2022, I was invited to join the University of Victoria’s celebration to commemorate the graduation of the inaugural class of the world’s first Indigenous law program. These young and vibrant leaders are graduating with two professional degrees — a Juris Doctor and a Juris Indigenarum Doctor. This will position them to practise law at the local, national and international levels.

Through their education, students were taught various types of law through a trans-systemic lens, comparing common law with Indigenous legal traditions. The students also spent a semester in each of their third and fourth years immersed in community-led field schools. Here, the students observed the Indigenous legal processes and worked with the community on law-related projects. In their upper years, student learnings also included the legal traditions and language of the Coast Salish region.

This program, co-founded by Val Napoleon and John Borrows, two of the nation’s leading legal scholars, builds upon the University of Victoria’s commitment to Indigenous law and Indigenous legal education. The program is transformational and will have incredible impacts in training people who will lead us towards true and lasting reconciliation.

But do not take my word for it. Graduate Heather Middlemass has some advice for anyone considering the program:

. . . know that it’s going to be this profound experience that will transform you. And it will empower you with legal skills that go beyond what you would get in a regular law program, by weaving in a lot of lived experience into your legal education.

I was asked to be a witness to the graduation, and part of that responsibility is to carry the news far and wide. The graduation was woven with ceremony as the graduates were drummed into the hall by two young leaders, who then explained the ceremony. Throughout the event, we could feel our ancestors standing among us, dancing with pride. You could sense the recovery of ancient knowledge from ancestral blood memory from the land and our relatives.

The journey of these graduates represents one of strength, survival, recovery and rebuilding. These future leaders are now a bridge between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous world views and ways of knowing. This groundbreaking program truly represents reconciliation in action.

Kinanâskomitin. Thank you.

Hon. Marty Deacon: Honourable senators, one of the greatest honours of our job is paying tribute to individuals who have contributed deeply to our country, globally and to the communities we represent. Today it is a privilege to celebrate the life of Stephanie Leigh Prysnuk, an incredible young woman who was a shining light for so many in her Waterloo community.

In her 32 years of life, Stephanie proved time and again that there was no obstacle she couldn’t overcome. Born with a congenital heart disease and several other conditions, Stephanie was only able to go home after several procedures, and even then, she required specialized equipment and care. She had a childhood of trips to and from the hospital and a loving family, and her father Wayne, a special dad and champion, passed away when she was only 8 years old.

Despite these challenges, Stephanie worked hard to live life to the fullest with a stoic ability to accept the challenges life threw her way and just get on with it to try new things. Her courage, resilience, honesty, feistiness and smile were contagious.

Stephanie found a great deal of strength through her participation at Knox Waterloo Presbyterian Church. Through this church, Stephanie participated in many activities, including a mission trip where she took many wonderful photographs. She also made sure to give back, including planning a fundraising event for the Canadian Congenital Heart Alliance.

Last summer, Stephanie was able to fulfill a lifelong dream and move into her own place in the neighbourhood she grew up in. Her sister Beth lived in the apartment above her, where she could provide support. They spent much time together. Beth was a great source of support, love and friendship for Stephanie, and they both loved their sister time. Stephanie loved her family, which six years ago ballooned from 3 to 31 when her mother, Barb, married Fred, and they became a part of his clan.

Sadly, colleagues, Stephanie passed away last month, having touched the lives of so many in her short time with us — so many, in fact, that Knox Church was barely able to contain the 400 who came to pay tribute to her at a celebration of life, along with her family, Dream Team, Fab Five, Gourmet 2.0 and many, many friends.

Even in death, she found a way to make the world a better place, with her friends carrying on work she left unfinished to fundraise for others with heart disease. They were able to raise $12,000 in her honour two short weeks ago.

Stephanie defined grace for all who knew her, and she leaves a legacy that will truly stand the test of time. Her community — a very large community — was built on her love, caring and courage every step of the way, every day. The world is lesser with her passing, but she leaves it in better shape than she found it, and for that we all owe her a great debt of gratitude. Her light will shine forever. Thank you, meegwetch.

Senator Gold: Thank you for the question. The government welcomes the Auditor General’s report and accepts the recommendations. Indeed, the Auditor General’s report highlights the challenge that the government has been working to address for many years. The government recognizes that some Canadians, particularly the most vulnerable, still face barriers in accessing government services or benefits for a variety of reasons. For example, they don’t appear in administrative databases, they do not or are not required to file taxes and they are not reflected in the census. It then becomes difficult to remind them to apply for a benefit by mail or telephone because we may not know who they are.

I’m advised that the Reaching All Canadians Initiative, an initiative to eliminate barriers to access and delivery and to ensure more people are getting benefits to which they are entitled, will continue and that the government will expand and strengthen its response to the findings in the audit to which you referred. I am further advised and assured that the government will continue to develop programs and processes to ensure that all Canadians, especially marginalized and underserved people, are able to access services, benefits and support.

[Translation]

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. All Canadians deserve to feel safe and secure. I have been told that the minister remains committed to reviewing use-of-force policies.

I would also note that the recent report on police intervention options indicates that the RCMP is making progress towards reform. With the implementation of its incident management intervention model, which was updated in April 2021, RCMP training now focuses on de-escalation and communication techniques.

I have also been told that the minister has asked the RCMP to carefully review the use of force in policing, specifically by eliminating the use of neck restraints, tear gas and rubber bullets. The minister is also committed to ending the use of chokeholds.

Although significant progress has been made, the government knows that there is still work to be done. The government is committed to continuing to review RCMP policing practices in collaboration with the provinces, territories and municipalities, as well as Indigenous and racialized communities.

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question. The government has made, is making and will continue to make progress on this issue. For example, as of this moment I’m advised that there is less than a one-week discrepancy between male and female applications. That’s down from a seven-week difference not that long ago.

The government has also improved the discrepancy between anglophone and francophone veterans by seven weeks. There is still a problem. There is still an eight-week difference, which is not acceptable but is down from a high of fifteen weeks.

The government has hired a 30-member francophone team based in Montreal to work solely on processing these claims. They have also increased the hiring of bilingual staff across the country to process these claims and reduce the times. The government, with all of these actions and investments, is seeing real, tangible progress, but there remains work to be done.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question, colleague. I regret you haven’t received an answer. I was not aware. I shall follow up and report back as soon as I can.

Hon. Percy E. Downe: Thank you, Senator Deacon, for taking my question.

As you are aware, the three parties in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island — the Conservative Party, which is the government; the official opposition, which is the Green Party; and the Liberal Party — have all passed a motion asking the federal government to support a trial project in Prince Edward Island. It would be a continuation of what was undertaken but stopped in Ontario, as you indicated in your speech.

The federal government, so far, has not agreed to doing that because, as you know, there are two schools of thought. Prince Edward Island thinks it is a substantial replacement for existing programs and would target the very people you talked about in your remarks, whereas the other concern is that the report done by the Government of British Columbia indicates that the costs would not be sustainable over the long term.

One of those views is obviously wrong.

Would you agree with me that the child benefit, in the case of Prince Edward Island, has had a tremendous impact? Over $500 million has gone to Prince Edward Island in the last four years in tax-free benefits, affecting 25,000 families and 13,000 children. In my view, a pilot project in P.E.I. would also work. Would you share that view as well?

Senator C. Deacon: Thank you, Senator Downe, for the question. I would offer that if P.E.I. gets to it first, that would be great. I totally believe it’s worth doing and that you’ve got an advantage over other provinces and territories on having that all‑party support in your legislature. I would love it to happen in Nova Scotia, but the point is that I would love it to happen, period. We assume what the costs are, but we don’t know what programs and overlap can be eliminated. We don’t know what opportunities can be created by empowering people and freeing them.

There are examples from the past and from other countries where, if there is a second income that comes into the house, you will lose your benefits. Then you choose to push one parent out of the house, in effect.

If they can’t get jobs that employ them at a certain level, we have to look at how rules are creating opportunity and preventing opportunity. We don’t know about that opportunity side of the equation.

That’s why I would love to see it go ahead in P.E.I., but I want to see it go ahead. I want us to have a controlled study that really gives us insight into all the different areas where impacts, negative and positive, will occur.

I may be proven wrong, but the evidence right now does not exist to say that helping people first will not create greater opportunities. The evidence certainly isn’t there that our status quo is performing to the level it needs to.

Hon. Renée Dupuis: Honourable senators, the first annual report presented by the Standing Committee on Audit and Oversight outlines the work that the committee has accomplished since it was created by the Senate on October 1, 2020.

This special new standing committee represents a significant step forward in the Senate’s history, because it is responsible for auditing and overseeing all Senate expenditures and the management of public funds allocated to the Senate as an institution and to senators as individuals. By taking responsibility for overseeing its own administration and spending, the Senate and all of the senators are taking control of any reviews or examinations of its practices, so that this process is not left up to external bodies.

Moreover, the decision to add external members to a Senate decision-making structure represents a significant shift. The institution as a whole has decided not only to examine itself, but also to involve people from outside the institution in that examination. This decision brings us in line with many legislative chambers from around the world that have established oversight and monitoring mechanisms in response to growing societal demand for accountability from our institutions.

The process of creating a committee involves a series of tasks, steps, analyses and discussions on the governance of the committee, as well as a series of legal questions that need to be answered. All this kept the committee members very busy, on top of having to make adjustments because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The act of creating a new structure within an institution brings its own share of change and uncertainty. As deputy chair of the committee, I want to acknowledge all the members, both the senators and the external members, for working cooperatively, sharing their expertise and experience, and showing mutual respect over the past 18 months. The Senate members shared their experience with the institution, and the external members shared their technical expertise and professional experience, while making any necessary adjustments to accommodate the unique characteristics of a legislative chamber. We requested and obtained the help of staff from many Senate Administration directorates, which made our task much easier.

By tabling this first annual report in the Senate, along with the internal charter adopted by the committee, we are submitting the first archival documents related to the Senate’s important decision to create an audit and oversight committee. Even more importantly, we are reporting to our fellow senators on the work that has been accomplished to date.

Thank you.

The Hon. the Speaker: Is leave granted, honourable senators?

Hon. Jane Cordy moved second reading of Bill S-246, An Act respecting Lebanese Heritage Month.

She said: Honourable senators, Canada is a country with a rich heritage of immigrants from all over the world arriving on our shores to pursue the dream of a better life for themselves and their families.

Bill S-246 aims to recognize and celebrate the experiences and contributions Lebanese Canadians have made and continue to make to Canada.

As the preamble to the bill states, Lebanese Canadians have — for generations — made significant social, economic, cultural, religious, military, philanthropic and political contributions to our social fabric and to the strength, resiliency and diversity of our communities.

Colleagues, I must begin my remarks by first acknowledging Member of Parliament for Halifax West, Lena Metlege Diab, whose leadership on this initiative has been instrumental.

Ms. Diab is a long-time community leader and active member of the Halifax Lebanese community. In 2010, she was the recipient of the Outstanding Professional of the Year award from the Lebanese Chamber of Commerce in Nova Scotia.

She has served as president of the Canadian Lebanon Society of Halifax at several intervals since 1993, including 2013 when the society celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary.

Honourable senators, according to the 2016 Census data of those respondents who identified as Lebanese, Canada is home to 220,000 Canadian Lebanese. However, unofficial estimates by Global Affairs Canada put the number anywhere between 200,000 and 400,000. The largest Lebanese communities are in Montreal and Toronto. Recognizing and celebrating a Lebanese heritage month will encourage Lebanese Canadians across the country to share their stories, their traditions and their culture with all Canadians.

With the passage of this bill, each and every year throughout Canada the month of November would be designated as “Lebanese Heritage Month.”

Honourable senators, why designate November as Lebanese heritage month? From time immemorial, the region of modern‑day Lebanon had been under the rule of any number of empires, dynasties or colonial powers.

Beginning in 1920, the region fell under French colonial rule. In 1940, during the Second World War, the Nazi-installed Vichy France government assumed power over Lebanon. While the war continued, the Vichy government was removed in 1941 as Nazi control of Europe eroded and Allied forces made military gains in the region.

General Charles de Gaulle visited Lebanon shortly after Vichy France released control of the region. National leaders in Lebanon approached de Gaulle requesting independence. On November 26, 1941, General Georges Catroux, a delegate general under de Gaulle, proclaimed the independence of Lebanon.

However, this proclamation was essentially a hollow gesture as France maintained administrative and political control over the region. In defiance of France and following national elections in early November 1943, the first order of business for the new government was to amend the Lebanese Constitution to abolish France’s mandate over the country.

On November 11, 1943, the Lebanese flag flew for the first time over Lebanon.

The French government responded by arresting and imprisoning the newly elected president, prime minister and several other ministers.

Under immense pressure from other countries and wartime allies, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, the Arab states and the Soviet Union, France had little choice but to reconsider. On the morning of November 22, 1943, France released their political prisoners, and, after 23 years of French colonial rule, Lebanon was then officially an independent state.

November 22 has since been recognized and celebrated to mark Lebanon’s independence. The month of November holds significant importance for the population of Lebanon, Lebanese nationals and Lebanese descendants worldwide.

Honourable senators, in 2018, my province of Nova Scotia became the second province to officially recognize November as Lebanese heritage month. Ontario was the first to do so in 2017.

Nova Scotia has a robust Lebanese community with a rich history in our province. Many of the first Lebanese immigrants coming to Canada landed in Nova Scotia beginning in the late 1800s, and they chose to make the province their new home.

In 2018, a statue commemorating Lebanese immigrants was unveiled in Halifax. It portrays a Lebanese traveller wearing traditional clothes. The plaque accompanying the statue reads:

This monument is a universal symbol of a proud, strong, and globally united Lebanese community. The statue honors the early Lebanese settlers who, 130 years ago, established a presence in this country, sewing the bonds of loyalty, faith, and perseverance. We are thankful to our Nova Scotia community and for the enduring friendships built in our new home, Canada.

Nova Scotia is also home to the Canadian Lebanon Society of Halifax, one of the oldest Lebanese societies in North America.

This past weekend, the fifteenth annual Lebanese Cedar Festival took place in Halifax. This annual festival was first conceived in 2006 under the leadership of Father Pierre Azzi and the parish council of Our Lady of Lebanon Parish. The focus of the Lebanese Cedar Festival in Halifax is to:

. . . promote and foster the Lebanese culture and traditions as integral elements of Canada’s multicultural mosaic and to provide a venue for Canadians of Lebanese heritage to reacquaint themselves with their rich roots. The Cedar Festival is an opportunity for families and groups of all ages to be together to experience the culture and heritage in a fun, free, and safe atmosphere!

Honourable senators, my husband and I spent last Saturday afternoon at the Lebanese Cedar Festival. It was a wonderful, sunny afternoon with singing, dancing and games for the children. Of course, there was also plenty of homemade traditional Lebanese food. Best of all, there were lots of smiling faces and friendly people.

It was the first festival since COVID, so there was a special feeling of coming together again. When the festival was cancelled in 2020, the community rallied to donate 2,000 meals of Lebanese food to first responders, health care workers and charities.

Honourable senators, Canada’s story is one of immigration. People from all over the world have left their homes, some by choice, but far too many have been forced to leave their homelands, to forge a new life in Canada.

We know that immigration enriches Canadian society and grows the economies in communities large and small, urban, rural and remote, and leads to stronger Canadian trade and cultural ties with other countries.

Canada is not so much the melting pot that we are told growing up. Canada is rather like a big salad, with each culture adding a new ingredient and a new flavour. Cultures are not lost like they would be in a melting pot. But, rather, they come together to complement each other for a truly Canadian flavour.

Honourable senators, in 2015, a report entitled Economic Benefits of Immigration: The Impact of Halifax’s Lebanese Community was prepared by the Halifax Partnership and the Canadian Lebanese Chamber of Commerce. The aim of the report was to provide a case study and a summary of the impacts immigrants have on the Canadian and Halifax economies, with a focus on the Lebanese experience in Halifax.

According to the National Household Survey, the broader Lebanese community in Halifax in 2015 was 4,500 people. However, unofficial estimates put the number close to 7,000.

Officially, the Lebanese community makes up 3.75% of the Halifax population, of which nearly 20% are self-employed. The Lebanese Chamber of Commerce in Halifax counts among its members owners of many restaurants, grocery and convenience stores and construction and real estate development companies. They are innovators and they are entrepreneurs.

The report estimated that developers from the Lebanese community were responsible for nearly $4 billion in construction in Nova Scotia between 2005 and 2015, and that number has grown significantly since then. The report also estimated the direct and indirect employment related to Halifax’s Lebanese community and related business in Halifax is between 4,000 and 5,000 full-time jobs.

Honourable senators, the Canadian Lebanese community, like all immigrant communities that have chosen to make Canada home, have contributed greatly to the fabric of Canadian society and an enriched Canadian culture. I know in my province, Lebanese businesses have left an indelible mark on the city of Halifax with billions of dollars in construction projects.

And let’s not forget another significant cultural contribution to my province when, as the story goes, in 1901 Lebanese immigrant George Shebib introduced the unofficial card game of Cape Breton: tarabish. For those of you who are from Cape Breton, you have probably all played tarabish. I know that many Cape Bretonners still enjoy a good game of tarabish with friends around the kitchen table.

Honourable senators, I hope you will join me and support this bill in recognition of the rich history and contributions the Lebanese community has made to Canadian society. I look forward to hearing about the contributions Lebanese Canadians have made in your corner of Canada. Thank you.

Hon. Paula Simons: Honourable senators, I am delighted to rise today to speak in support of Bill S-246, An Act Respecting Lebanese Heritage Month. I speak quite selfishly, since Senator Cordy’s bill gives me such a wonderful opportunity to share with you more of the Alberta history that I love.

I want to take you back to 1905 — the year Alberta entered Confederation. The province was booming with the arrival of waves of pioneer settlers. In 1901, the population of Alberta had been just 73,000. By 1905, it had more than doubled to 160,000.

Among the newcomers to arrive that year was young Alexander Hamilton. No, not the $10 founding father without a father Alexander Hamilton; not the American revolutionary immortalized in rap by Lin-Manuel Miranda. I’m talking about Alberta’s Alexander Hamilton, whose adventure story is no less amazing.

Our Alexander Hamilton, who was born Ali Ahmed Abouchadi, arrived in Alberta in 1905 from his home in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. He was just 12 years old.

He and his uncle Sine Abouchadi came to Alberta via Winnipeg, hoping to strike it rich in the Klondike gold fields. Finding themselves almost a decade late for the gold rush, they decided to become travelling fur traders instead, buying pelts from Cree and Métis trappers around Lac La Biche and then selling them in Edmonton.

When young Ali was just 16, his uncle decided to go back to Lebanon, leaving the teenager alone to make his own way on the western frontier. But Ali, who changed his name at that point to Alexander, made his fortune — and I do mean his fortune — as a fur trader, merchant, farmer, cattle salesman and finally as one of Alberta’s first dealer of Ford automobiles. He was one of the first Lebanese pioneers to settle in Alberta. Immigrants: they get the job done.

Hamilton was soon followed by a wave of others from the Bekaa Valley, some of them inspired by his early successes. There were Hamdons and Tarrabains, Shabens and Saddys, Mouallems and Kazeils and Chadis, Awids and Johmas and Amereys, Haymours and Salloums and Darwishes — cousins, friends, in-laws and neighbours who emigrated, one after the other, from small Lebanese villages such as Lala, Qab Elias and Kherbet Rouha.

Peddlers and shopkeepers, fur merchants and farmers, ranchers and restaurateurs, they left their homes half a world away to become settlers on a vast new frontier.

For the Indigenous peoples of Alberta, this wave of settlement in the wake of the treaties was a profoundly difficult and unjust time. But the Lebanese newcomers learned Cree and Dene and forged strong bonds of friendship with the First Nations and Métis people they met as they built new lives for themselves as traders and merchants in Lac La Biche, Fort Chipewyan, Fort McMurray, Athabasca and High Prairie, plying the rivers to the north in the Northwest Territories in search of the best furs.

When you think of fur traders, homesteaders and ranchers — Alberta pioneers — Lebanese immigrants might not be the first people who come to mind. But there were Lebanese settlers in Alberta from the very moment it became a province. They laid the foundation for the vibrant, multicultural province we were to become. Without their contributions, Alberta would not be the province we know today.

The first to arrive were single men, but the women soon followed and left their mark on their new homeland. There were women such as the formidable Hilwie Jomha Hamdon. Born in 1905 in Lebanon, Hilwie moved to northern Alberta as a bride of 17 to join her husband, Ali Hamdon, a successful fur trader who greeted her, on her arrival, with a full-length sable coat.

The couple spent their early married life in Fort Chipewyan, a primarily First Nations community in the north of the province. There, Hilwie formed enduring friendships with her Indigenous neighbours, learning to speak both Cree and Chipewyan. An Edmonton Journal story from 1964 reported that one of the local chiefs had dubbed her “the finest white woman in the North.”

Hilwie hosted visiting celebrity bush pilots, including “Wop” May and “Punch” Dickins, in her home. But, as their family grew, Hilwie wanted a better education for their six children and insisted that they all move to Edmonton, where she soon became a leader in the capital’s growing Lebanese community.

You may already know that Edmonton was home to Canada’s first mosque, the Al Rashid. You might not have known that it was Hilwie Hamdon who led the charm offensive that got that mosque built.

She convinced Edmonton’s then-mayor John Fry that the city should donate the land. Then she convinced Muslims and Arabs all across Alberta and Saskatchewan, as well as Edmontonians of all faiths and backgrounds, to donate to the mosque and raised the necessary $5,000 to pay for construction.

The mosque was built by Ukrainian-Canadian contractor Mike Drewoth. Mike had never seen a mosque, so he designed the Al Rashid to look like a Ukrainian church, complete with those distinctive signature “onion domes” that mark eastern Christian churches — one onion bulb atop each minaret. You could hardly imagine a more uniquely Edmonton building than one that fused Lebanese and Ukrainian culture and aesthetics into a harmonious whole.

The original Al Rashid opened in 1938 and stands today in Fort Edmonton Park, Edmonton’s living history museum, where young Muslim guides provide tours and programming through the summer, teaching tourists and reminding Edmontonians about our city’s deep Lebanese and Muslim roots. In 2017, the Edmonton Public School Board opened Hilwie Hamdon School, named in honour of this remarkable Edmonton champion of education and inclusion.

While many of Alberta’s early Lebanese settlers were Muslim, others were Christian or Druze, and certainly not all of them were northern fur traders.

Isper Shacker, for example, got his start in the small Alberta town of Hanna, where he ran the local movie theatre. He would later go on to become the Mayor of Hanna. And though he himself was Christian, not Muslim, he travelled to Edmonton and attended the opening of the Al Rashid Mosque as a special guest of honour.

William Haddad, the son of Lebanese shopkeeper Abdelnoor Farhat Haddad, graduated from law school at the University of Alberta in 1941, becoming one of Canada’s first Lebanese lawyers. He served in the navy during the Second World War, became president of the Edmonton Bar Association, the first chair of the Edmonton Police Commission, vice-chair of the Alberta Securities Commission and finally a judge on the Court of Appeal of Alberta — one of the first Arab judges in Canada.

In keeping with such legal traditions, just last month, Edmonton lawyer and community leader Bob Aloneissi, the son of Lebanese immigrants, was appointed to the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta, becoming, I do believe, Alberta’s first Druze judge.

Of course, the first Lebanese pioneers were joined in Alberta by later waves of immigrants in the 1950s and the 1970s and continuing to this day.

By 1969, the Muslim population in Lac La Biche made up about 10% of the town’s total population, the largest proportion of Muslims in any town or city in North America at that time. Today, one in six people in Lac La Biche can claim Lebanese roots, and the town claims it has the highest proportion of Lebanese Canadians in the country.

Alberta certainly has, by far, the largest Lebanese population outside of Quebec and Ontario. This has, perhaps, given Albertans — especially Edmontonians — a disproportionate passion for hummus and donair.

The Edmonton novelist Todd Babiak — not Lebanese himself — once wrote that it was impossible to have a party of any kind in Edmonton without someone bringing hummus. Now, Ottawa may think it has cornered the market on shawarma, and Halifax might think it can claim the donair, but Edmonton has something to say about that.

Alberta, though, can certainly claim the Lebanese-inflected Burger Baron mushroom burger, recently immortalized by the award-winning Edmonton author, journalist and documentary maker Omar Mouallem, in his film, The Last Baron, which tracked the social history of Lebanese immigration via the stories of the Burger Baron restaurants that were, and are, landmarks across the Prairies.

Less calorically, Alberta will also proudly claim Canada’s first Lebanese cabinet minister, Larry Shaben, who served with distinction in the cabinets of premiers Peter Lougheed and Don Getty, and who was the first Muslim appointed to any provincial or federal cabinet in Canada.

Notably, while commuting north to his riding in High Prairie, Larry Shaben survived a horrific small-plane crash that killed six people, including his friend and colleague, the Alberta NDP leader Grant Notley, father of Rachel Notley. The story of Shaben’s extraordinary escape, not just from death in the crash but from death in the freezing northern wilderness, was told in the award-winning book Into the Abyss, written by acclaimed Lebanese-Canadian journalist Carol Shaben — Larry Shaben’s own daughter.

Edmonton was also home to Canada’s first-ever Muslim judge, Ed Saddy, the proud son of Lebanese immigrants, and one of my dad’s oldest friends. They grew up together on Edmonton’s Boyle Street, where Lebanese and Jewish kids shared a special bond.

Today, Alberta’s Lebanese community — Muslim, Christian, Druze or decidedly secular — is stronger than ever, whether its members are newly arrived immigrants or fourth-generation Albertans.

Those deep, deep roots are among the reasons that the Edmonton Public School Board currently offers Arabic bilingual immersion programs at six of its public schools.

They’re the reason the Edmonton Journal recently reported that there are nearly 120 shops and restaurants in Edmonton with “donair” as part of their name, which, in the words of Postmedia columnist Chad Huculak, “. . . dwarfs Calgary’s minuscule 50 and Toronto’s less than 20.”

And they’re the reason Edmonton is proudly home to the Canadian Druze Centre and a significant population of the Druze diaspora in North America.

I guess you might say every month in Alberta is Lebanese heritage month. But I don’t think anyone back home will object to having an excuse, every November, to celebrate, and I’ll bring the hummus.

To Senator Cordy, I say thank you, hiy hiy and šukran.

Senator Simons: Yes, I think you did miss it. It opened in 1938 in downtown Edmonton on a gift of land from the City of Edmonton with $5,000 raised from communities across the West. I have to say, the original mosque was moved brick by brick and now stands in Fort Edmonton, but the Al Rashid Mosque endures as one of the largest mosques in Western Canada, throwing open its doors in times of fire and disaster. The Al Rashid Mosque has been remarkable for welcoming the homeless during cold snaps and for opening its doors to people who were fleeing the Fort McMurray wildfires. It’s an extraordinarily important part of Edmonton’s cultural and social community.

Hon. Frances Lankin: Will Senator Deacon take a question?

Senator C. Deacon: I would be honoured.

Hon. Mobina S. B. Jaffer: Thank you, Senator Simons, for your speech on Edmonton, and Senator Cordy, thank you for your speech and also for starting this inquiry. I may have missed you saying it, but wasn’t the first Muslim mosque also built in Edmonton?