Senator Yuen Pau Woo

SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — Expressions of Good Wishes for the Season

’Twas months before Christmas when all through the House,
Not an MP was sitting — pas même une souris, not even a mouse.
The writ had dropped; all legislation was stopped;
But senators worked on, for our duties don’t drop.
Senators, however, did not stop working,
Our job is to keep calm and keep on sobering.

An election was coming, the polls shouted “Pierre!”
But Carney replied: “Pas si vite — I’m the rightful heir.”
“Elbows up!” he declared with glee,
“Le Canada — jamais! — the 51st state we shall be.”
When voting was over, the Libs scraped a minority;
Senators sighed deeply — ah, quelle incertitude, quelle vie.

The Forty-Fifth launched with a Bill to Build Canada,
Cutting red tape and administrative yadda-yadda.
Premiers lined up for money from the Feds,
With visions of megaprojects dancing in their heads.

The PM said internal trade will grow,
But I still can’t buy BC wine at the LCBO.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave the lustre of midday to objects below.
When out in the Rockies there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my seat to see what was the matter.
Away to the Chamber I flew like a flash,
Cherchant les projets de loi we still had to hash.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear . . .
But yet another pipeline project to the coast — oh dear!

With a PM determined to diversify,
I knew he would travel far, chercher des alliés,
And court new friends on whom to rely —
Since l’Amérique, hélas, no longer stands by.

More rapid than eagles Trump’s tariffs they came
On steel, on lumber, sur l’aluminium — the same.
“Now Hegseth! Now Hoekstra! Now Bessant and Rubio!
Make sure you are up on your Doctrine de la Monroe”.

Will CUSMA survive American caprice?
Sinon, nous ne devrions vraiment pas être surpris.
So to Asia and Africa and Europe we’ll go;
And Latin America too, for business to grow.

And then in a twinkling I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I lifted my head and was turning around,
Down the chimney a budget tumbled — about a year late in coming to ground.

The government promised more capital spending;
The PBO called it creative accounting.
Can we still trust our fiscal anchors?
No, I’m not talking about a ban on oil tankers.

Minister Champagne — il n’est pas St. Nick;
This budget has few gifts from which to pick.
Spending on arms will rise up and up —
$12b more this year alone: For what? For what?

There’s more money for dental care too.
Anyone for a root canal? There’s funding for you.

We welcome new leaders across the chamber;
We look to them to steer us from danger.
An independent senate we must defend;
Not the House of Commons seek to pretend.

As we spring to our sleighs and give a quick whistle,
Préparant de nous envoler — like the down of a thistle,
We await the Speaker’s blessing ere she slips from our sight:
“The Senate stands adjourned to 2026. Bonne nuit, good night!”