Statement made on 04 October 2011 by Senator James Cowan
Hon. James S. Cowan (Leader of the Opposition):
Honourable senators, it is my great pleasure to draw the attention of the chamber today to a special honour that was bestowed last week upon my colleague the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Senator Tardif.
Last Thursday, at a ceremony at the National Assembly of Quebec, Senator Tardif was presented with l'Ordre des francophones d'Amérique. The Quebec government awarded Senator Tardif this high honour, in their words:
. . . in recognition of her championship of linguistic and cultural rights of francophone minorities across Canada, and for her important contribution to secondary and post-secondary education.
Honourable senators, we here have been privileged to witness close-up Senator Tardif's passionate commitment to both francophone rights and education. She grew up as a francophone in a small anglophone town in Alberta. Her parents were determined that she know not only the French language but also what it means to be a francophone, to know her cultural heritage, and so they made the difficult decision to send her away to boarding school at the age of 6. That was the only choice her parents had.
Today, francophone parents in Alberta, and indeed across Canada, have a wide variety of choices open to them — thanks, in no small part, to the work of Senator Tardif. She has said that the legacy from her family — to value both a good education and her French heritage — have been the twin causes of her life. Senator Tardif was determined that the next generation and all the succeeding ones would be able to realize their identity, by right, without having to leave home at the same age she did. She, together with others, worked tirelessly to change that reality and to create opportunities for young Canadians, French and English, to be able to be educated in French in their own communities. Thousands of Canadians have benefited and, as a nation, we have benefited as well. We are stronger and more unified. As more and more Canadians are able to communicate in more than one language, we are better equipped to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
Senator Tardif's determination to ensure that students have access to French language education covered the full spectrum, from elementary school through university. She served two terms as Dean of the Faculté Saint-Jean, the highly regarded French language campus of the University of Alberta in Edmonton. In that time, Senator Tardif took an institution whose very existence was in jeopardy and turned it around, in part by raising millions of dollars to put it on a solid foundation for future generations of French-speaking students. She remains professor emeritus at the University of Alberta.
Senator Tardif, we are all proud that the Government of Quebec has seen fit to recognize your many accomplishments with this great honour. We look forward to continuing to work together for minority language rights and education for Canadians for many years to come. Félicitations!
Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!