Hon. Elizabeth Hubley:

Honourable senators, it is pleasure I rise today to move second reading of Bill S-226, which would recognize the Maple Leaf Tartan as Canada's national tartan.

The Maple Leaf tartan has been Canada's unofficial national tartan for many years. It is time to recognize the rich contribution Canadians of Scottish descent have made to this country by adopting a national tartan for Canada, which can be worn by every Canadian, regardless of their ancestry, as a symbol of national pride.

Around the world, there is an estimated 40 million people who claim Scottish descent. According to Statistics Canada data, almost 5 million Canadians claim Scottish origin. That is almost 15 per cent of Canadians. In my home province of Prince Edward Island, almost one in three Islanders claim Scottish origin.

Since the 17th century, Canadians of Scottish origin have played a significant role in the evolution of Canada and in its leadership in the fields of politics, science, education and the arts. Many Canadian universities were founded by Scots: the universities of Toronto, McGill, Queen's, St. Francis Xavier, Dalhousie and Saint Dunstan's, to name a few.

In the field of politics and law, there have been many Scots who played a large role in developing our country: Sir John A. Macdonald, Alexander Mackenzie, William Lyon Mackenzie King, Agnes MacPhail, Tommy Douglas, Kim Campbell, Beverley McLachlin, and even Pierre Trudeau, who was of Scottish descent on his mother's side.

Director James Cameron, musicians Wilf Carter, Joni Mitchell and Sarah McLachlan, and actors Donald Sutherland, Keifer Sutherland, and Eric McCormack are all Canadians of Scottish descent, as is actor Jim Carrey, whose mother is from the Gordon clan.

Alexander Graham Bell gave us the telephone. James Naismith gave us basketball. Alexander Keith gave us Keith's beer.

Honourable senators, the list of Canadians of Scottish descent who have contributed to shaping all aspects of our growth as a nation is endless. After all, as late as the 1960s, the third largest ethnic group in this country after English and French were those of Scottish descent. In fact, as I look around this chamber, I see many colleagues who, like me, are of Scottish descent.

My grandmother was a MacLeod, and even as a young girl I recognized the importance of my Scottish heritage. My mother made sure all her children attended the Highland games and local ceilidhs. I was encouraged to participate in Highland dancing and in Scottish step-dancing competitions. I remember the thrill as a young girl of meeting Dame Flora MacLeod, who was the clan chieftain at the time, and having the privilege of dancing for her. I still wear my MacLeod tartan with pride.

A tartan is probably the most visual expression of Scottish heritage and culture. Although the earliest evidence of tartans dates to the Hallstatt culture that flourished between 400 BC to 100 BC, and was linked to the ancient Celtic populations, tartans became widespread in the 16th century in Scotland. By the late 17th century, some uniformity was growing in the use of tartans and they could be used to distinguish the inhabitants of different regions.

Weavers used natural dyes locally available to make their tartans, and these regional tartans or district tartans eventually were claimed by the clan or family who was most numerous in the area as their clan tartan. Often these clan tartans are worn by those who feel associated with the tartan.

Since the Victorian times, some have claimed there is etiquette to wearing a tartan, and only those with connection to a family tartan should wear it. However, not all tartans are associated with a particular clan. Some tartans, known as free tartans or universal tartans, can be worn by anyone. Examples of these free tartans are the Black Watch, which is also known as the Government, Universal or Campbell tartan, as well as other tartans such as the Caledonian, the Hunting Stewart and the Jacobite. That being said, there are no rules about who can and who cannot wear a particular tartan.

Although tartans were originally woven from wool and made into clothing, most notably kilts, they are now made of other materials and can be found printed on a variety of materials such as cups, notebooks, purses and even furniture.

Many organizations and regions have created their own tartans. Most provinces and territories in Canada have adopted an official tartan, with the exception of Quebec and Nunavut. Some municipalities and counties in Canada have also adopted official tartans.

The Maple Leaf Tartan was created in anticipation of Canada's centenary. Designed in 1964 by David Weiser of Highland Queen Sportswear Limited in Toronto, the Maple Leaf Tartan pattern incorporates the green of the leaves' summer foliage, the gold that appears in early autumn, the red that appears with the coming of the first frost, and the brown tones of the fallen leaves.

David Weiser, the talented designer who designed not only the Maple Leaf Tartan but also the Quebec Tartan, the Ontario Tartan and the Niagara Falls Tartan, died in 1990. However, I have been in contact with David Weiser's son, Howard Weiser, and his grandson, Mark Weiser.

David Weiser was born in Ukraine and immigrated with his family to Canada as a toddler. His father took a job in the garment industry in Toronto when the family arrived in the country. When his father became ill, David left school and went to work in the industry to help support the family. He learned garment making and design from the ground up, and became a talented and prolific designer. His son, Howard, followed him into the garment business. Although he is retired, Howard's son Mark works in the industry — making four generations of talented designers and garment makers in the Weiser family. I am pleased to inform honourable senators that the family is delighted with Bill S-226 and supports the designation of the Maple Leaf Tartan as the official national tartan of Canada.

The Maple Leaf Tartan made a big splash in the fashion industry after its introduction in 1964. A review of news clippings from that time indicate that it was worn by Canadian athletes competing abroad, by a Canadian on a U.S. fashion tour, and by Canada's dairy queen at the British agricultural fair in London. It was even modelled at a private fashion show for the Queen Mother.

In the 1960s and 1970s, clothing made with this tartan was available for men, women and children in department stores, such as Eaton's and Simpson's. Today, the tartan is not usually available in department stores but is still sold widely in tartan and fabric shops. It is worn by the Pipes and Drums of the Royal Canadian Regiment, by staff at a major hotel chain in Nova Scotia and by individuals who appreciate this beautiful tartan. Fittingly, performers at the closing ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympics last year wore the Maple Leaf Tartan.

Honourable senators, the Maple Leaf Tartan was registered as an industrial design in 1964 by Highland Queen Sportswear Limited of Toronto; but it is now in the public domain as design rights expired in 1974. A sample of the tartan was sent to the Scottish Tartan Society in 1964 after an article appeared in the Dundee Evening Telegraph, a Scottish newspaper, reporting on the new tartan's appearance at a fashion show for the Queen Mother. It was first entered in the Register of All Publicly Known Tartans and registered in 1964. In the late 1990s, the Scottish Tartan Society became defunct. The Register of All Publicly Known Tartans formed the basis of a new International Tartan Index maintained by the Scottish Tartans Authority, a charitable organization started by several former members of the Scottish Tartans Society. The Maple Leaf Tartan's International Tartan Index number is 2034, as identified in the original Register of All Publicly Known Tartans.

In February 2007, Secretary of State Jason Kenney asked the Scottish Tartans Authority in Edinburgh, Scotland, to issue a certificate for the Maple Leaf Tartan in the name of the Dominion of Canada. I have a copy of that certificate, which confirms the Maple Leaf Tartan, as originally registered in 1964, as the de facto national tartan of Canada. As the government indicated in a press release in 2008, by doing so, they wished to ensure that no other country or individual could lay claim to the tartan.

Honourable senators, I should note that the records of the defunct Scottish Tartans Society have been maintained by a second charity created by other former members of the society. Known as the Scottish Tartans World Register, this database was also based on the Register of All Publicly Known Tartans. It records the Maple Leaf Tartan with reference number WR2034. In 2009, the Scottish Register of Tartans was established as part of the National Archives of Scotland to act as an independent, accessible and sustainable registry for tartans. The National Archives of Scotland has worked with the Scottish Tartans Authority and the Scottish Tartans World Register to amalgamate their former databases into a single dataset for the registry. The new Scottish Register of Tartans does not assign a new identification number for tartans already registered but uses the reference from the original databases. Therefore, in the new register, the Maple Leaf Tartan is identified by its reference numbers in both databases — the Scottish Tartans World Register and the International Tartans Index of the Scottish Tartans Authority. In the bill, I choose to identify the tartan by its Scottish Tartans Authority International Index Number 2034, keeping the same method of identifying the tartan as the government kept in 2007. As I indicated, this same number also appears in the new Scottish Register of Tartans.

It is important to note that by registering a tartan in the Scottish Register of Tartans or in any of its predecessor databases, as was the case with the Maple Leaf Tartan, no rights are conferred. It is simply a register of unique designs.

Honourable senators, currently there is confusion about the status of the Maple Leaf Tartan with some believing that by claiming the tartan in the name of the Dominion of Canada with the Scottish Tartans Authority, the government has recognized the tartan officially. That is not the case. Official symbols are created by official proclamation, by order-in-council, by resolutions adopted in both Houses of Parliament or by an act of Parliament. This is why the Canadian Heritage website lists the Maple Leaf Tartan as Canada's unofficial national tartan. Bill S-226 would change that.

Honourable senators, I have had conversations with the minister's office and I understand that the Minister of Canadian Heritage is supportive of the bill. The family of the designer, David Weiser, is supportive of the bill. The Clans and Scottish Societies of Canada, which has more than 45 member organizations from all across this country, is supportive of this bill.

I ask honourable senators to support this bill, which would declare officially the Maple Leaf Tartan as Canada's national tartan — a tartan that can be claimed by every Canadian regardless of his or her ancestry.

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