Hon. Amina Gerba: Honourable senators, February is the time to celebrate Black History Month, but we should celebrate Black history every day, all the time.

Today I am pleased to share with you a success story. It illustrates both resilience and humanness, but it also highlights the opportunities our country offers to those who have chosen to enrich our society and make Canada their home.

Colleagues, I rise today to pay tribute to a child who came from Haiti at age 8 and who was recently selected to be the first Black chancellor of the biggest francophone university in North America. With you and for you, I salute Frantz Saintellemy, top‑level scientist, seasoned businessman and 14th Chancellor of the Université de Montréal.

The second youngest of a family of 13 children, Frantz had a very hard time learning in elementary school. Nevertheless, with help from his teacher Gérard Jeune, who encouraged his efforts, he turned things around by getting top marks.

After earning his secondary school diploma, Frantz got a scholarship to study electronic engineering and computer science in the United States and graduated in 1996 from Northeastern University.

He worked for Analog Devices in the United States and Future Electronics in Montreal before striking out on his own and buying, with a partner, a company that supplies semiconductors and software for environmental sensors, ZMDI, in Germany.

This company, which was resold four years later for $350 million U.S., made Frantz a millionaire.

In 2012, he and his wife, Vickie Joseph, invested in renovating and converting an abandoned factory located at 3737 Crémazie Boulevard in Saint-Michel, Montreal, and Groupe 3737 was born. The organization’s mission is to give back to the community and, in particular, to help Black youth become entrepreneurs.

With an investment of over $20 million in private funds, the organization has welcomed more than 150 businesses and 200 not-for-profit organizations, trained more than 1,000 entrepreneurs of diverse backgrounds and cultures and generated 400 jobs.

Since 2017, Frantz has been the President and CEO of LeddarTech, a company that specializes in vehicle safety technologies. He breathed fresh life into this company, which is now valued at more than $1 billion U.S.

I wanted to tell you about Frantz’s remarkable contribution to our technological, economic and social advances and to show how immigrants contribute to the history of our country.

Honourable senators, the prosperity of diversity contributes to the prosperity of our country. We must support our fellow citizens from different backgrounds and cultures so that they can make us proud, like Frantz Saintellemy.

Thank you.

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