Senator Rose-May Poirier

Christian “Kit” Goguen Hon. Rose-May Poirier: Honourable senators, I am pleased to once again speak to you about Christian “Kit” Goguen of Saint-Charles, an exceptional artist from my neck of the woods. The last time I spoke to you about Kit was five years ago. At the time, I shared Kit’s inspiring story as an artist, but now a new chapter has begun for him. For those colleagues who were not here the last time I spoke about Kit, he made a name for himself as an artist by winning honours at the…

Motion to Reaffirm the Importance of Both Official Languages as the Foundation of Our Federation in Light of the Government of Ontario’s Cuts to French Services—Debate Continued On the Order: Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Miville-Dechêne, seconded by the Honourable Senator Klyne: That the Senate, in light of the decisions made by the Government of Ontario with respect to the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner and the Université de l’Ontario français:…

Women’s History Month Hon. Rose-May Poirier: Honourable senators, as we are nearing the end of October and this being the Women’s History Month in Canada, I thought it would be an appropriate occasion to share with you a story from the field of medical research of a prominent woman from New Brunswick. Born in Jackson, New Brunswick in 1909, Gladys Enid Johnson MacLeod was educated at Dalhousie University and graduated as a medical doctor in 1937. She was encouraged to pursue her studies and we…

Our Lady of Calvary Monastery Hon. Rose-May Poirier: Honourable senators, I rise today to share with you a bit of hidden history of my region of Kent County in New Brunswick. At about 40 kilometres from my home in Saint-Louis-de-Kent, you will find the community of Rogersville. This community of 1,166 people is known to be a very religious community, with different groups and institutions involved in its everyday life. One of those groups is the Trappist Monastery at Our Lady of Calvary. It al…

New Brunswick Hon. Rose-May Poirier: Honourable senators, with summer approaching, I want to invite you to come and spend some time in my beautiful province of New Brunswick. I will tell you about 10 beautiful natural wonders that you can explore there this summer. New Brunswick has over 50 beaches, which are all open to the public. The five most popular are the beaches and dunes in the Kouchibouguac National Park, which is very close to where I live in Saint-Louis-de-Kent; the Bouctouche Dune…

Hon. Rose-May Poirier: Honourable senators, I rise here today to talk about the important issue of what the age should be for access to legalized cannabis. The current provision in Bill C-45 proposes to have 18 years of age be the set age for legalized cannabis, and it gives the provinces the latitude to move that age. Unfortunately, I’m worried that the age of legalization as it is right now will do more harm than good, especially if it remains asymmetric. At the Social Affairs Committe…

Centre AquaKent Fortieth Anniversary Hon. Rose-May Poirier: Honourable senators, on the weekend of May 27, 2018, the community of Saint-Louis-de-Kent celebrated the 40th anniversary of the AquaKent Centre. This community centre provides a wide variety of services, including a public indoor swimming pool, a community hall, a racetrack, a soccer field, a tennis court, and several kilometres of cross-country ski and bike trails. Children and teenagers from the community can go to the cen…

Hon. Rose-May Poirier: Honourable senators, I rise today in support of Senator Boisvenu’s amendment to add a ticketing option for our youth when it comes to single possession and distribution. One of the objectives and intentions of Bill C-45 was to protect our youth by changing the approach to recreational cannabis from a criminal perspective to a public health policy approach. When looking at the bill as drafted today and after hearing from numerous witnesses at the Social Affairs Commi…

Cannabis Bill Bill to Amend—Third Reading Hon. Rose-May Poirier: On the amendment, honourable senators. I rise to speak in support of Senator White’s amendment in banning home cultivation. First off, I would like to acknowledge the tremendous work done by the National Defence and Security Committee, the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, the Aboriginal Peoples Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee. As a member of Social Affairs Committee, their report recommendation and ob…

Acadie-Bathurst Titans Congratulations on Memorial Cup Hon. Rose-May Poirier: Honourable senators, pride has come back to the city. So exclaim the headlines of the Telegraph Journal following the Titan d’Acadie-Bathurst season ending on Sunday evening with the top crowning moment as they now reign supreme over all of junior hockey in Canada as Memorial Cup champs. Hon. Senators: Hear, hear! Senator Poirier: They defeated the host of the tournament, the Regina Pats, to which I say…