Hon. René Cormier: Honourable senators, December 13 was Acadian Remembrance Day. Every year, on the same date, the Acadian community mourns as it remembers one of the darkest days of the Great Upheaval, which occurred from 1755 to 1764.

On December 12 and 13, 1758, two British ships, the Violet and the Duke William, sank in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, taking with them many Acadian families who had been deported. Nearly 3,000 Acadians from Île St-Jean, known today as Prince Edward Island, were forced off their land and put on ships bound for Europe, and 750 of those men, women and children drowned or died from sickness.

Somewhere between the New World and Europe, their voices were swallowed up in the depths of the sea, taking with them the hopes and dreams of an entire people. These were the voices of the French Acadians that the conquerors of the time wanted to silence forever, voices that, with the help of the Mi’kmaq people, had been singing, praying and making their existence known in the lands of Acadia, now known as Nova Scotia, since 1604.

Charles Lawrence, the British governor responsible for the Deportation, planned to wipe out the Acadians’ social and cultural identity. However, he misjudged this resilient people, who were able to defy the odds and return decades later.

The voices that were believed to have been silenced forever at the bottom of the Atlantic have emerged stronger and more empowered than ever. Now they are claiming their place here in Canada and have gained recognition around the world.

On Wednesday, November 24, 2021, in Paris, France honoured one of Acadia’s most vibrant voices. Accompanied by a delegation of scholars, artists, business people and activists, Acadian author Antonine Maillet, the first Canadian to be awarded the prestigious Goncourt prize, was promoted to the rank of Commander of the French Legion of Honour in recognition of her body of work. The gathering reaffirmed the unbreakable bond uniting Acadia and France.

The honour bestowed on Ms. Maillet also reminds us that, here in Canada, more than 257 years after the Deportation, the Acadian people must carry on fighting to ensure respect for the French language, one of our country’s official languages, within our institutions and governments.

On November 24, accompanied by the French President, Antonine Maillet planted an oak tree in France. Centuries earlier in America, Acadians were left with nothing. The oak tree symbolizes Acadians’ attachment to their original homeland.

That same day, an inflatable boat carrying Iraqi Kurdish migrants sank in the English Channel off the port of Calais, killing 27 and injuring two. One person is still missing.

History keeps repeating itself, colleagues. As 2021 draws to a close, let’s stand in solidarity with all those uprooted and displaced peoples who are suffering a fate similar to that of the Acadian people, and let’s take action together to put an end to these inhuman tragedies.

Thank you.