Thursday, May 4, 2023 – Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard meets with high school students enrolled in a human rights mini-course at the University of Ottawa. During this meeting organized by SENgage, she touched on the role of the Senate in Parliament, her path to the Senate, her own interests in human rights and her work as Deputy Chair of the Senate Committee on Human Rights.

Friday, May 5, 2023 – Senator Brian Francis, centre, gathers with community members at Victoria Park in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, to mark the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People, also known as Red Dress Day. (Photo credit: Patricia Bourque.)

Wednesday, May 10, 2023 – Senator Pierre J. Dalphond launches the second day of “Colloque sur la violence conjugale et familiale” at the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue in Mont-Laurier, Quebec.

Wednesday, May 10, 2023 – Senator Brian Francis joins 12 of his colleagues at an event he co-hosted in the Senate of Canada Building to mark Bear Witness Day. The event featured remarks from senators, community members and local Indigenous children and youth leaders. From top left: senators Bev Busson, Margaret Dawn Anderson, Mary Coyle, Marty Klyne, Pierrette Ringuette, Jane Cordy, Nancy Hartling and Yvonne Boyer. From bottom left: senators Patti LaBoucane-Benson, Michèle Audette and Kim Pate.

Friday, May 12, 2023 – Senator Brian Francis delivers a keynote speech on the topic of reconciliation during a celebration to mark the opening of a new office in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, by the Immigrant and Refugee Services Association PEI.

Friday, May 19, 2023 – Senator Marie-Françoise Mégie, third from right, visits l’École secondaire Pierre-de-Blois in Ottawa, Ontario. During this visit organized by SENgage, the senator described the role of the Senate, talked about her journey to the Senate and addressed this year’s Black History Month theme, “Ours to tell.”

Tuesday, May 23, 2023 – A delegation of the Parliamentary Black Caucus, including co-chairs Senator Rosemary Moodie and MP Michael Coteau, senators Sharon Burey, Bernadette Clement, Amina Gerba, Marie-Françoise Mégie, and MPs Greg Fergus and Matthew Green visit Washington, D.C. for a historic first meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus. The delegation also met with leadership from Howard University and with leaders from five of the legacy civil rights organizations in the United States.

Thursday, May 25, 2023 – Senator Hassan Yussuff, top left, meets with international students from AIESEC. During this virtual meeting organized by SENgage, he touched on the role of the Senate in Parliament, what senators do, his path to the Senate and his own interests.

Thursday, May 25, 2023 – Clockwise from top centre, senators Victor Oh, Yonah Martin, Hassan Yussuff, Yuen Pau Woo and F. Gigi Osler celebrate Asian Heritage Month with students from Simcoe County District School Board in Ontario. During the webinar organized by SENgage, they shared their stories as senators of Asian descent, discussed the importance of Asian Heritage Month to them, and addressed this year’s national theme, “Stories of Determination.” The senators also answered questions that students submitted before the webinar.

Friday, May 26, 2023 – Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard, top right, meets virtually with students at Riverview Middle School in Devon, Alberta. During the session organized by SENgage, she spoke about her path to the Red Chamber and shed light on her role as a senator. She inspired the students by highlighting the potential for young people to make a difference and to bring about positive change. She also answered students’ questions.

Monday, May 29, 2023 – From left, senators Andrew Cardozo, Kim Pate, Donna Dasko, Victor Oh, Salma Ataullahjan, and Rob Black, visit the Ontario Legislature. The day trip, organized by Senator Black and Ontario Legislature Speaker Ted Arnott, included a tour of the legislative building, an acknowledgement in the chamber by Speaker Arnott, a luncheon reception with members of provincial Parliament (MPP) and a roundtable discussion with MPPs from all political parties.

Monday, May 29, 2023 – Senator Ratna Omidvar meets with Bill Browder, CEO and co-founder of Hermitage Capital Management, left, and Brandon Silver, director of policy and projects at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, to discuss fighting global corruption and, in particular, seizing Russian assets and repurposing those assets to the victims of the war in Ukraine. 

Tuesday, May 30, 2023 – Senator Ratna Omidvar, centre, participates in the launch of Hong Kong Watch Canada, an organization defending the human rights, freedoms and rule of law in Hong Kong. From left: the Honourable Irwin Cotler, international patron of Hong Kong Watch; Benedict Rogers, co-founder and chief executive of Hong Kong Watch; Senator Omidvar; Aileen Calverley, co-founder and trustee of Hong Kong Watch; and Sam Goodman, director of policy and advocacy of Hong Kong Watch.

Thursday, June 1, 2023 – Senator Don Plett meets with Christine Carriere, president and CEO of Pets Canada, left, and Tonya Martin, vice-president of advocacy and regulatory affairs at Pets Canada, in the Senate of Canada Building to discuss their concerns about Bill S-241, the Jane Goodall Act.

Friday, June 2, 2023 – Senators Pat Duncan, middle left, Michèle Audette, middle right, and Kim Pate, bottom left, participate in a virtual Roundtable on Reconciliation hosted by the Centre for Global Education. They were joined by students from schools across Canada who asked questions on topics including Indigenous sovereignty, education and health care. The senators discussed how to advance reconciliation in Canada and encouraged the students to step outside their comfort zone.