Mr. Speaker, it is with pleasure today that I rise to speak to the motion to create August 1 as emancipation day.
I commend the hon. member for Calgary East for introducing the motion. I also commend my colleague, the hon. member for Dartmouth, for her excellent discourse, particularly in her description of the very important history of black communities in Nova Scotia. I commend the hon. member for a particularly thorough and engaging discourse.
Black Nova Scotians have made very important contributions in the past and they continue to do so today. We are very proud in Nova Scotia to have the largest indigenous black population on a per capita basis of any province in Canada.
I was surprised and disappointed with the hon. member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine when she turned what should have been a non-partisan debate on a very important fundamental issue, what should have been a celebration of multiculturalism, into a partisan mudslinging match on the floor of the House of Commons. I thought that was unnecessary and it is tragic that it happened today. In this important issue there is clearly no role for partisanship. Again I commend the member for Calgary East for introducing the motion.
We should celebrate the progress that has occurred for black Canadians since the days of slavery. We should celebrate the emergence of some great Canadian black role models and black Canadians who have made such a terrific contribution to Canadian society and from whom we have all benefited. That awareness of all our histories is important, particularly as a tool through education to combat the negative impacts of racism and the lost opportunities of racism. I think again, as we pause to recognize and celebrate our individual collective histories, that it can take us a long way toward tackling the negatives of racism.
Our party has had a strong history in this regard. It was the leader of our party today who as Prime Minister in 1979 appointed the first black Canadian to cabinet, Lincoln Alexander. Later Mr. Alexander went on to become Canada's first visible minority appointed as lieutenant governor of Ontario.
We are proud in the other place to have Senator Donald Oliver, a fellow Nova Scotian and certainly a very strong contributor to the Senate. He is a great Canadian who serves the interests of all Nova Scotians and all Canadians very well. Of course we have Senator Anne Cools in the other place, and in this place we are very pleased to have members of the black community who contribute so much to the betterment of Canadian society.
l will mention a few individuals from Nova Scotia who made a particularly great contribution to our history. The hon. member for Dartmouth through her history in theatre would know the actor Walter Borden. We are also proud of novelist Fred Ward, filmmaker Sylvia Hamilton and poets Maxine Tynes and David Woods, and poet, author and filmmaker George Elliot Clark, all of whom have made significant contributions to our history and the cultural mosaic of Nova Scotia.
I should have also mentioned that Senator Oliver is from Wolfville, Nova Scotia, which is in my riding. I am also very proud of Ted Upshaw, an inspector in the RCMP who is the highest ranking black Canadian in the history of the RCMP. He is from Three Mile Plains outside Windsor in my riding.
It is important that we celebrate these great contributions. As we become more aware, particularly as young Canadians become more aware of these excellent and important contributions, it can make a lot of difference in tackling some of the misconceptions and the stereotypes which so often hurt all of us. As a society it has a negative impact from a macro perspective.
We can do an awful lot more through education by celebrating the contributions of the past and present and working toward ensuring a more unfettered access to the opportunities to shape the future of our country.
We have to consider things like equality of opportunities in terms of economic issues as well. We have to ensure that not only our governmental institutions but also businesses and individuals all strive a little harder to ensure that the barriers to access, to success and to opportunity are taken down. We have to make that commitment on an ongoing basis.
Nowhere is it easier to do that and to start setting an example than through our education systems provincially. The federal government can play a role in working with provincial governments on these types of initiatives. I tend to think those are probably the best places to start.
The motion of my friend and colleague from Calgary Centre to designate August 1 as a holiday, as emancipation day, would be a step forward. It would be beneficial in terms of helping achieve some of these goals. It is only one step.
I commend the hon. member for bringing forward the motion. I wish it had been made votable. It is unfortunate that in this place so much work and thought go into private members' business that are ultimately not provided with the level of attention I feel is important or with the level of attention that the members opposite would like to see provided to some important issues.
I regret that it was not made a votable motion. I regret that some members opposite chose the opportunity to turn this very important and positive debate into a more partisan exercise. That should not in any way, shape or form detract from the commendations for the member's initiative in bringing this forward. I wish him all the best in this initiative and offer the complete support of myself and my party for this initiative.