Thank you.
I have learned sobering truths. Despite winning, decades of being in a subterfuge of corruption, lies and cover-up leaves lasting wounds, but the deepest cut is loss: loss of time, hope, vocation, community, and most of all, the loss of my little brother who, with special needs, counted on me. Engaged in a war against a formidable government, I couldn't be there when he needed me most, and he died alone.
A year later I went through the same debilitating regret when mom died. We never got to sign up for the sewing classes. I kept deferring. I am so sorry.
Today my husband Serge is here with our sons Zacharie and Sebastien. In the depth of despair, we found grace with their arrival. For their generation, we must find courage and place dignity to people over deference to power. We must pass Bill C-290, establishing this moment as a new beginning in restoring trust not only in our public service but also in Canada's vision for decency and justice.
Martin Luther King said, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” Today, pass Bill C-290 and be the force that bends this arc.
Thank you very much. I apologize.