Hon. Andrew Cardozo: Honourable senators, as the chair of the Artwork and Heritage Advisory Working Group, I have the privilege of informing you of some of the work we are doing to preserve and showcase the Senate’s rich cultural history and heritage. As you know, the other members of the working group are Senators Ataullahjan, Burey and Moodie.

I have three short updates. I am particularly excited about the display of a well-crafted wooden chair from the original Senate Chamber as part of the Collection Spotlight program, one floor up from the lobby of the chamber.

This historic artifact comes from the Centre Block that burnt down in the fire of 1916. To the best of our knowledge, it is the only chair that survived the fire and, indeed, is one of the very few pieces of furniture from the original Centre Block dating back to Confederation.

I also want to let you know that the portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Lilias Newton, née Torrance, which currently hangs in the entrance of the Senate of Canada Building, will be moving shortly. It’s owned by the National Capital Commission, and their plan is to move it to Rideau Hall to hang alongside a portrait of Prince Philip painted by the same artist.

I want to highlight that it will be replaced by another fine portrait of Her Majesty during the upcoming winter. There will be more on the new portrait shortly, once the loan agreement is finalized. But for those of you who have a fondness for the current painting, and I know that many of you do, the next few months is the time to get a picture of it before it is moved.

I’m also pleased to announce that the Senate has accepted a new addition to its heritage collection, namely, a wooden sculpture carved in 1997 by the talented artist Jean-Baptiste Dubé. This outstanding work of art was gifted to the Senate by Senator Dagenais in view of his upcoming retirement. Senator Dagenais, thank you so very much for your extremely generous gift.

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.