Hon. Marty Klyne: Honourable senators, I rise to pay tribute to a force of nature in our chamber and a true champion of the independent Senate reform: Senator Lankin.
In 2016, Frances became one of the first seven senators appointed in the independent era. She has been an exceptional senator, contributing leadership on many subjects, including labour relations, gender equality and use of the Senate Rules to overcome filibusters.
Senator Lankin is a fantastic orator — worthy of the Roman Senate — more often than not speaking off-the-cuff without notes. She is also an example to anyone who believes politics should be about doing something, not being something. This is evident in her achievements as the sponsor of historic legislation. I will highlight two such bills.
In 2016, Senator Lankin sponsored government Bill S-3, addressing historic gender discrimination in status under the Indian Act. However, Senators Dyck, Sinclair, McPhedran and others recognized that the changes didn’t go far enough. How could the Senate of Canada in good conscience eliminate some gender discrimination, but not all? As sponsor, Senator Lankin was responsive and determined to do the right thing, setting the tone for the role of independent sponsors of government bills going forward.
The collaborative result was that, in 2017, a much-amended Bill S-3 became law, eventually eliminating all historic gender discrimination under the Indian Act. This success was one of the early landmark legislative achievements for the Senate’s independent era, also signalling our chamber’s increasing role in advancing reconciliation and gender equality.
During that same Parliament, Senator Lankin successfully sponsored Bill C-210, which was the late MP Mauril Bélanger’s private member’s bill proposing a gender-neutral national anthem. Working with Senator Petitclerc, she used the Rules in an innovative way to overcome an 18-month opposition filibuster of that House of Commons bill. The result was that, since 2018, our anthem has stated, “True patriot love in all of us command.”
One takeaway is that for senators whose bills may be facing issues in this chamber, don’t take Senator Lankin off your speed-dial.
This year, she also moonlighted in the Government Representative Office, or GRO, to lead the entrenchment of the independent Senate reform in our Rules — a landmark achievement in parliamentary history.
Senator Lankin, your wisdom, your voice and your determination will be missed in this chamber, where you leave an incredible legacy. We wish you all the very best in your next chapter.