Mr. Speaker, 83 years ago today, Liberal Prime Minister Sir William Lyon Mackenzie King threw open Parliament's doors to gender equality by appointing Cairine Wilson as the first female Canadian senator.
Wilson was a true pioneer for women and in this role she worked to make both Canada and the world a better place for all people. Domestically, she was the chairman of the Canadian National Committee on Refugees, a role she fulfilled with such distinction that she received the Legion of Honour from France. She was the first woman to chair a senate standing committee. In 1955, she again crashed through the glass ceiling by becoming the first female deputy speaker of the Senate. Internationally, Cairine Wilson became our first female delegate to the U.N., where she worked to advance a strong notion of social justice and respect for all.
Indeed, we owe a tremendous debt to this pioneer of equality, a woman who did not just knock down barriers, she jumped over them as she reached for the stars.