Senator Don Plett, Leader of the Opposition

The Honourable Victor Oh

Hon. Donald Neil Plett: Honourable senators, 130 years ago, Mr. Xu Wah Oh gathered up his meagre belongings, took his wife and three sons, and left his home in Anxi County in the Chinese province of Fujian.

They walked down the mountain they lived on, a trek that took more than one full day. They then continued walking another four and a half days to the city of Xiamen where they boarded a sailboat destined for Singapore, a voyage that would take the better part of two and a half months.

Here Mr. and Ms. Oh raised their three sons, eking out a living as best they could.

Colleagues, 10 days ago Senator Housakos and I, along with our wives Demi and Betty, had the honour of accompanying Mr. Oh's great grandson, Victor, as he and his wife, Rosabela, returned for the very first time to Fujian province and his ancestral home on top of this mountain.

We, of course, were driven up the mountain in a modern bus, albeit on a very winding road. We then walked the last half a kilometre on the same path that Mr. Oh and his family had walked down 130 years ago. The path had been paved for us, just two days prior to our arrival. There were no cement trucks or cement mixers anywhere in sight. Indeed, all of the concrete had been mixed and carried up the mountain by hand.

Here Senator Oh received a hero's welcome as most of the village was there to greet him. The fireworks were something to behold. Senator Oh was honoured and revered like no one I had ever seen. He was truly their hero. He was a Canadian senator, appointed on merit, and he was one of theirs.

After a great meal and a ceremony, Senators Oh, Housakos and I planted a tree in Senator Oh's honour, a tree that we are told will live for hundreds and maybe thousands of years.

From here we travelled a couple of hours to a tree plantation. Again, Senator Oh was the hero. The local people had built a giant wooden structure, under which we again had tea. After tea, we moved to the plantation where three signs were erected, one for each of us — Senator Oh, Senator Housakos and me. They had three rows of tea shrubs laid out for us, and we were asked to plant these shrubs. Here is where my and Betty's agricultural experience showed as we had our row finished before team Oh or team Housakos had even finished half of theirs.

We were promised that the fruits of our labour would be realized in about two years, and that they would regularly send us our tea after each harvest. So we can now say that we are doing our part for "all the tea in China."

Colleagues, Senator Oh is an example of entrepreneurship and ambassadorship both in Canada and abroad, and he was rightly honoured. I am so proud that I was part of this. We are truly fortunate to have him in the Senate. Colleagues, please join me in recognizing a great Canadian and a great friend, Senator Victor Oh.

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!