Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

Senator Boehm: — who, as we all know, will very soon be our dear former colleague. Long before being appointed to the Senate in 2016, Senator Bovey, as a gallery director, art historian and professor of the arts and culture, was a staunch proponent of cultural diplomacy.

That advocacy, for a largely misunderstood and grossly undervalued subject, has continued through her six and a half years as a senator, including appearing at the Foreign Affairs and International Trade Committee last Thursday, May 4, during the second of three meetings the committee is holding on cultural diplomacy and Canadian studies programs.

It is my sincere hope, colleagues, that this motion will be adopted today while Senator Bovey, whose last day in this chamber is Thursday, May 11, is still a sitting senator.

This would mean she will have spoken to and, most importantly, voted on a vital step in fulfilling her legacy piece — that is, the long-overdue adoption of Cultural Diplomacy at the Front Stage of Canada’s Foreign Policy.

Honourable senators, I noted at the outset of my remarks that practitioners and supporters of cultural diplomacy and Canadian studies programs place great significance on this report, despite its lack of adoption by the Senate. Committee members have heard this message loud and clear from the witnesses whom the committee welcomed recently on cultural diplomacy. On April 27, the committee focused specifically on Canadian studies and, on May 4, arts and culture. Tomorrow, on May 10, the committee will culminate its meetings on cultural diplomacy with appearances by senior officials from Global Affairs Canada and Canadian Heritage.

The executive summary of the 2019 report states the following:

Arts and culture are foreign policy assets. However, the Canadian government’s interest in cultural diplomacy has been inconsistent over the years: initiatives have been undertaken to only then be phased out. Regardless, Canadian artists, writers and cultural organizations have themselves never stopped projecting the country’s culture and arts internationally.

Colleagues, all of this remains true four years later. Advocates have not stopped their efforts, and the government has taken no real action despite explicitly stating its support for cultural diplomacy. In the Prime Minister’s mandate letter to the Honourable Mélanie Joly upon her appointment as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2021, the Prime Minister directed Minister Joly to:

Work with the Minister of Canadian Heritage to launch a new cultural diplomacy strategy to leverage the work of Canadian artists and cultural industries to support Canada’s diplomatic goals.

Similarly when the Honourable Pablo Rodriguez was reappointed as the Minister of Canadian Heritage in 2021, the Prime Minister mandated him to:

Work with the Minister of Foreign Affairs to launch a new cultural diplomacy strategy and ensure Canadian artists realize benefits from this initiative.

The COVID-19 pandemic notwithstanding, support for cultural diplomacy by the government has been, as the report stated, inconsistent. Actions speak louder than words, colleagues, and the lack of concrete action on this file is — while many Canadians may not realize it — quite detrimental to our global interests.

Colleagues, I will stop there because, as I said, this is the first step in adopting the report. Once this motion is adopted, we will then have the opportunity to debate the report.

Thank you, honourable senators, and a very special thank you to our colleague Senator Bovey for her steadfast support and advocacy for Canadian culture and for arts around the world.

Thank you.

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!

Some Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

(On motion of Senator Martin, debate adjourned.)

(At 6:28 p.m., the Senate was continued until tomorrow at 2 p.m.)