November 1st 2018 - Bill S-244, An Act respecting Kindness Week - Various Witnesses

Senator Poirier: Thank you, Senator Munson, for bringing this bill forward. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing all that you have shared. It’s inspiring. I think bringing awareness to the importance of this in our daily lives is something that we all have a responsibility of working on, and I think doing this would be great.

I’m not the best person on social media, but I have to say this just shows how something can go so big. We had a young lady from the Moncton, New Brunswick, Riverview area, Becca Schofield, who was going through cancer and she passed away, a little while back. When she became very ill, they put together what I think is called a hashtag or something. She started a movement that was just #BeccaToldMeTo, and it went viral. People were out there doing all kinds of acts of kindness. When someone would ask, “Why did you do that? Becca told me to.” It moved on and on. I think a lot of people all over will remember that for years to come.

Senator Munson, in your experience with you did it with Autism Day, where you were able to bring it in successfully and keep talking about it. What are your plans to make sure that the first time we have a national kindness week that Canadians are aware of it? I know we all have a responsibility, each and every one of us, to make sure that our communities know about it.

How did you do it with Autism Day? Did you go out on social media? How did you promote it?

Senator Munson: First on Becca, she was front and centre in my speech, you might remember, in the Senate. I am a New Brunswicker, so #BeccaToldMeTo.

There were some chats this morning about some senators that don’t tweet, and I tweet a lot.

Senator Poirier: Okay. I don’t.

Senator Munson: But I use it as an instrument for social change. I use it as an instrument of promoting good deeds of others and good deeds that we’re doing in my office each and every day. I think that is an important instrument, particularly for young people, to use Instagram, whatever you have to use, to send those very positive messages.

When it came to autism, it wasn’t by any social media. It was a gentleman on Parliament Hill when I first arrived on the Hill 15—not first arrived; I arrived in 1972—but 15 years ago as a senator. He had a billboard on his front saying, “My son has autism. Help me.” He looked at me and said, “You used to work in the media and used to ask a lot of questions. I want you to answer some. You’re a senator.” So he came to my office and we sat down. It comes back to taking time.

We held each other, cried together and he talked about his 9- or 10-year-old son at the time who wasn’t getting proper services. Out of that came the idea of moving things through the Senate by a statement, and I wondered what I could do after that. When you speak within the walls of the Senate, who’s listening, sometimes? Then I was told, “Launch an inquiry, which is a longer statement.” Okay. Then what do I do? That’s the end of it. I said no. It was Senator Art Eggleton and Senator Willy Keon who said, “Bring it to the Social Affairs Committee.”

After that, we did six weeks of study. After that came a report from a person with autism from New Brunswick, who was very skilled in computer technology. He told us in this very room, “Senators, if we don’t do something now, you’re going to pay now or pay later.” He said that. It was his title for this book of what happened, which is a template being used throughout the whole autism community.

At that time, there were so many different voices out there. Now there’s CASDA, the Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorder Alliance. Governments have done things. They haven’t done the national strategy, which I hope will happen, but there have been Chairs of Excellence in universities. There has been funding for Canadian autism partnerships. There is now Ready, Willing & Able, an adult autism working program, and many other things. That’s where it happened.

So when, as a senator, that opportunity walks through your door, don’t close it. It’s a place to go, and at the end of the day, using various elements of social media will connect us all in the age that we’re living.

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