Senator Don Plett, Leader of the Opposition

December 16, 2020 (Ottawa, ON) - The Honourable Don Plett, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, issued the following statement:  Honourable senators, I rise today to add my voice to Bill C-7, a bill that seeks to expand the assisted suicide regime in Canada. Colleagues, it is a rare opportunity to stand in either house of Parliament to debate legislation that determines the circumstances in which people live or die. I sincerely hope that each of us feels the weight of the decisions we…

December 1, 2020 (Ottawa, ON) - The Honourable Don Plett, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, issued the following statement: Honourable senators, it is a pleasure for me to rise today to call the attention of the Senate to the province of Manitoba’s one hundred and fiftieth anniversary. Manitoba became Canada’s fifth province and the only province to enter Confederation under Indigenous leadership, 150 years ago. At the time, Manitoba was known as the postage stamp province because i…

December 1, 2020 (Ottawa, ON) - The Honourable Don Plett, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, issued the following statement:  Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Senator Seidman’s inquiry calling the attention of the Senate to weaknesses within Canada’s long-term care system, which have been exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. As you recall, before our one-week break, I did speak for a few minutes to this very important inquiry, and I want to continue. I want to thank Senato…

November 19, 2020 (Ottawa, ON) - The Honourable Don Plett, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, issued the following statement: Honourable senators, I would also like to say that I will be brief, but I will not be able to say that. However, I do also want to echo Senator Marshall’s comments in thanking the committee that met to deal with this legislation during the remembrance break. The work that all of our committees do is appreciated, especially in the times that we are in. Collea…

October 2, 2020 (Ottawa, ON) - The Honourable Don Plett, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, issued the following statement: Colleagues, just last week, the day after we were here in this chamber, the government tabled Bill C-2, An Act relating to economic recovery in response to COVID-19. It was the first bill tabled in this new session after pro forma Bill C-1 and Bill S-1. This was the bill the government spent the last five weeks working on while Parliament was prorogued. It was…

July 27, 2020 (Ottawa, ON) - The Honourable Don Plett, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, issued the following statement: Honourable senators, it will probably not come as any surprise that I will not echo Senator Tannas’s comments about commending the government on this bill. However, I am happy to rise and add my voice to the debate. I will, of course, give my opinion on the content of the bill, but this is also a good opportunity to measure what has been done so far in the fight…

June 26, 2020 (Ottawa, ON) - The Honourable Don Plett, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, issued the following statement: Honourable senators, we have before us Bill C-19, Appropriation Act No. 3, 2020-21, which seeks approval for an additional $6 billion of financing for the government’s operations. Aside from the fact that this figure includes $1.3 billion of COVID-related spending, there is nothing unusual about adding $6 billion in votable spending to the government’s bottom lin…

June 25, 2020 (Ottawa, ON) - The Honourable Don Plett, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, issued the following statement: Honourable senators, I rise today to launch an inquiry into the presence of racism and discrimination within Canadian institutions. Colleagues, many of us in this chamber have not personally experienced racism. For that reason, we are often blind to what visible minorities continue to face on a regular basis. It is easy for us to recognize blatant expressions of…

May 15, 2020 (Ottawa, ON) - The Honourable Don Plett, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, issued the following statement: Honourable senators, it was March 11 when the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. In his remarks to the media that day, the WHO’s director said the following: In the past two weeks, the number of cases of COVID-19 outside China has increased 13-fold, and the number of affected countries has tripled. There are now more than 118,…

May 1, 2020 (Ottawa, ON) - The Honourable Don Plett, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, issued the following statement: Honourable senators, before I begin my speech on the bill, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the unspeakable tragedy that unfolded earlier this month in Nova Scotia. The nation was horrified as the extent of the killer’s violent rampage across the province became apparent. Twenty-two victims over 16 crime scenes. It was an utterly senseless act of violence. Th…