Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today as the member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes to speak to Bill S-223, an act respecting Kindness Week.
Bill S-223 was originally introduced in the other place by Senator Munson. As the saying goes, “if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.” Try the senator did and he was successful.
This bill was introduced each of those times in honour of Rabbi Reuven Bulka, who is the founder of Kind Canada and the inspiration for this bill. In the same spirit that motivated the rabbi to start the first Kindness Week in Ottawa 14 years ago, this bill would see Canadians from coast to coast to coast celebrate kindness week in their communities during the third week of February every year.
As for the rabbi's inspiration for the first Kindness Week, he said:
My motivation in establishing Kindness Week in Ottawa was to counter the bullying epidemic that had invaded our schools. The logic was simple. Telling children not to do something does not help that much and at times can be counterproductive. But helping children do nice things and say nice things to others creates the type of positive energy that suffocates bullying.
I can think of no better time for this bill than in the midst of a pandemic, where the lives of people have been turned upside down and the need to be kind to one another is greatly amplified. Many people have fallen on hard times and have lost their job, seen their business close and have seen loved ones fall ill.
It would be so easy for Canadians in this high-stress environment to become callous or indifferent to their neighbours, friends and family, but thankfully we have seen the opposite. Communities have come together to help the vulnerable in need among them. We have seen people getting groceries for their neighbours and the elderly. We have seen an increase in giving to food banks, an outpouring of support for charities, even children writing letters and sending videos to folks in long-term care homes. Acts of kindness like these are happening all across our country and have truly helped us get through the stress and uncertainty of this pandemic situation.
This bill, with the creation of a national kindness week, will help to encourage values such as empathy, respect, gratitude and compassion, and lead to the improved health and well-being of Canadians. Designating and celebrating a kindness week throughout Canada will encourage acts of kindness, voluntarism and charitable giving that will benefit all Canadians as well as connecting individuals and organizations to share resources, information and tools to foster more acts of kindness.
We hope that celebrating kindness week might encourage a culture of kindness in Canada. Showing kindness to people, regardless of their station in life, affirms the human dignity that is inherent in all of us. This is especially compounded in the current situation of the pandemic.
In that spirit of kindness, I want to sincerely thank the member for Saint-Laurent for her help in getting this bill to the finish line, working with all members in this place so we can realize Rabbi Bulka's vision for a kindness week in Canada, with the help of our friend in the other place, Senator Munson, and all members of the House, in doing the right thing, in doing the kind thing and getting this bill passed expeditiously.