Senator Yuen Pau Woo

Honourable senators, in my capacity as Joint Chair of the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations, I have a direct interest in this motion being passed as soon as possible. Together with the Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament, we are the two joint committees. Scrutiny of Regulations, while relatively not well known by colleagues, is one of the most important committees in our Parliament. It happens to be co-chaired by…

Honourable senators, I’m pleased to lend my voice in support of Bill S-232. I want to start by reminding honourable colleagues about a public health emergency that has been with us for seven years and which shows no sign of abating. I am referring to the public health emergency on toxic drugs declared by British Columbia in 2016, a year in which there were 19,275 overdose or poisoning calls in my province. Sadly, the declaration of a public he…

Honourable senators, I would like to speak to the fifth report of the Standing Senate Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament. It has been adjourned in the name of our chair, Senator Bellemare. She has kindly agreed for me to speak today, following which, I believe, she will take the adjournment and reset the clock. I would like to offer some reflections on this fifth report of the Standing Senate Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights…

Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Inquiry No. 11, which calls our attention to the one hundredth anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act. I would like to thank Senator Woo for bringing forward this timely inquiry. I believe that one of Canada’s great strengths is our capacity to self-reflect on the mistakes that we have made in the past. Senator Woo’s inquiry gives us an opportunity to ensure, upon reflection, that we never go down this path again. Ma…

Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Inquiry No. 11, which calls our attention to the one hundredth anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act. I would like to thank Senator Woo for bringing forward this timely inquiry. I believe that one of Canada’s great strengths is our capacity to self-reflect on the mistakes that we have made in the past. Senator Woo’s inquiry gives us an opportunity to ensure, upon reflection, that we never go down this path again. Ma…

Honourable senators, it is my pleasure to rise today to speak to the inquiry initiated by Senator Woo. The purpose is twofold: to celebrate the invaluable contributions that Chinese Canadians have made but also to reflect on the prejudice, exclusion and discrimination that Canadians of Chinese descent have faced and continue to face. I would like to thank Senators Jaffer, McCallum, Simons, Oh and Kutcher for speaking to this important matter — a…

In the middle of a speech bemoaning the poor use of Senate resources, Senator Housakos calls for the adjournment of the Senate – deliberately wasting everyone’s time and depriving members of a much-anticipated chance to question Minister Mark Holland.  Hon. Leo Housakos: ... So, colleagues, if many of you are wondering why this particular Item 31 and the budget of 2023-24 have not been approved and the official opposition has not spoken before about it, thi…

Hon. Yuen Pau Woo: I rise on a point of order. Your Honour, in the same way that you have admonished us at the start of the new session to watch our comportment, to watch our decorum and to watch our words, I would like to raise a profound issue I have with the use of a term that undermines the meaning of our institution, which is not captured in our Rules of the Senate of Canada or in the Parliament of Canada Act, and which is fundamentally deeply insulting to ma…

Hon. Stan Kutcher: Honourable senators, today I rise to address the inquiry initiated by Senator Woo, which holds a dual purpose: First, it calls for the celebration of the invaluable contributions that Chinese Canadians have made to our country. Second, it prompts us to reflect upon the prejudice, exclusion and discrimination that Canadians of Asian descent have faced and continue to face. While we celebrate the remarkable contributions of Chin…

Honourable senators, I would like to add my voice to the second reading debate on Bill C-234. Let me first thank the sponsor, Senator Wells, for making the case for this bill, and the critic, Senator Dalphond, for his insightful critique. I would have preferred to take some time to digest Senator Dalphond’s speech before delivering my own, but I know that there is some pressure to send this bill to committee tonight, along with a group of Senate public bills. I wo…