In the Chamber

SPEECH: Bill C-71, Amendments to the Firearms Act

Ratna Omidvar Senate of Canada November 8, 2018 Bill C-71, domestic violence, firearms, gender-based analysis, Toronto, women

"This Bill provides some reasonable measures that help strengthen our firearm laws in Canada. Extending background checks to include a person’s life history, not only the previous 5 years, is a reasonable approach."

Questions to Chief Electoral Officer Perrault: Extending Expats’ Special Voting Rules

Ratna Omidvar Senate of Canada November 6, 2018 Bill C-76, electoral reform, expats, voting rights

Senator Ratna Omidvar asks Canada's Chief Electoral Officer about the logistics of getting Canadians living abroad to vote in federal elections.

Question to Minister Blair: Unintended consequences of Bills C-45 and 46 for permanent residents

Ratna Omidvar Senate of Canada November 6, 2018 Bill C-45, Bill C-46, cannabis, impaired driving, legalization, Questions

Senator Omidvar asks Minister Blair about his government's commitment to addressing unintended consequences of legalized cannabis and new laws on impaired driving for permanent residents.

Senators’ Statements: Celebrating Diwali

Ratna Omidvar Senate of Canada November 6, 2018 Diwali, Statements

"Diwali shares a core message with other religions of the world: goodness shall prevail over evil, light will overshadow darkness, knowledge will conquer evil, and hope will overcome despair."

How to build on the Senate’s renewal process

F. Leslie Seidle Policy Options November 6, 2018 Senate Modernization

"As of October 31, 2018, 56 percent of the senators appointed under Trudeau were women and 16 percent were Indigenous. As a result, 44 percent of the 105 Senate seats are filled by women and 11 percent by Indigenous people."

SPEECH: Inquiry on Anti-Black Racism

Ratna Omidvar Senate of Canada November 1, 2018 racism

"As Dr. Samy Alim, an Anthropology professor at UCLA puts it, we must see race through a lens of language, and language through a lens of race."

Question to Minister Gould: Amending the Parliament of Canada Act

Ratna Omidvar Senate of Canada October 24, 2018 Democracy, Question Period, Senate Modernization

"As we all know, the Parliament of Canada Act is out of step with the increasing independence of the Senate. The independent senators are now the largest group in the Senate, but the Act doesn't reflect this."

Senators’ Statements: Congratulating Canadian Physicist Dr. Donna Strickland on her Nobel Prize

Ratna Omidvar Senate of Canada October 17, 2018 Dr. Donna Strickland, Nobel Prize, Physics, science, Statements

"Dr. Strickland is just the third woman in history to have been awarded this prize in physics and joins 22 other Canadians who are Nobel laureates who call Canada home, including Frederick Banting and Alice Munro."

SPEECH: Motion to Revoke the Honourary Citizenship Bestowed to Aung San Suu Kyi

Ratna Omidvar Senate of Canada October 2, 2018 Aung San Suu Kyi, Bangladesh, genocide, Myanmar, Rohingya

"We need to send a strong signal here in Canada and around the world that if you're an accomplice of a genocide, you are not welcome here. Certainly not as an honorary citizen."

Senators’ Statements: World Refugee Day 2018

Ratna Omidvar Senate of Canada June 20, 2018 Bangladesh, Myanmar, refugees, Rohingya, undocumented migrant children, World Refugee Day

" Let’s reflect on which choice has made us stronger, not just nationally but internationally. Let’s focus more on what can and must be done by us as individuals, by us as a nation, and by us as a member of the global world order."