EXTRACTS FROM HANSARD -- PROCEEDINGS OF CANADA'S SENATE :

Debates of the Senate (Hansard)
1st Session, 37th Parliament,
Volume 139, Issue 36
Tuesday, May 15, 2001
The Honourable Dan Hays, Speaker



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National Horse of Canada Bill

Second Reading - Debate Adjourned

Hon. Lowell Murray moved the second reading of Bill S-22, to provide for the recognition of the Canadien Horse as the national horse of Canada.

He said: Honourable senators, I can assure colleagues that this is not a money bill. There is no expenditure of funds involved and it is entirely proper that it originate in the Senate. I intend to make a few introductory remarks on this matter at the moment and then, with your indulgence, I would propose the adjournment of the debate and complete my remarks at a later date.

Let me begin by saying that the subject matter of this bill is of interest to a considerable number of people in rural Ontario, where I live, specifically in Lanark County. In Pakenham, where I reside, there are people who are active members of the Canadien Horse Breeders of Ontario. One of our parliamentary colleagues, who also hails from another part of rural Ontario, Mr. Murray Calder, MP, the member for Dufferin-Peel-Wellington-Grey, has a bill before the House of Commons at the present time that, in all important respects, is identical to this one.

Mr. Calder also has a bill in the other place that is similar if not identical to the proposals made by Senator Milne with regard to the secrecy of personal information collected in the course of national census. I want to insist that while I support his initiative for the recognition of the Canadien Horse, I emphatically do not support his initiative to open up personal information collected in the course of census. Anyway, Mr. Calder's bill for the recognition of the Canadien Horse as the national horse of Canada is Bill C-311, for your future reference.

Honourable senators, I would not claim for a moment that interest in this matter and knowledge of it is limited to rural Ontario. Indeed, one of the strongest supporters of this bill - I regret that the honourable senator is not in her seat at this moment - is Senator Fairbairn, whom I hope and expect will be speaking to this bill. As an Albertan, the Honourable Senator Fairbairn is well aware of the role that this animal has played in the development of Western Canada, as well as of the Maritimes and Ontario. I look forward to hearing from the honourable senator on that matter. I had hoped that she might second the motion for second reading today, but perhaps we can leave that until third reading.

Honourable senators, the symbolism is important, but the occasion of this debate and I hope of passage of this bill will also let us focus on the need to maintain the standards of this breed. This preoccupation with standards of the breed is not a new concern for Parliament. It was the subject of a parliamentary discussion in Sir Wilfrid Laurier's day. I have here a March 1909 transcript of the meeting of the Select Standing Committee of the House of Commons on Agriculture and Colonization that dealt with this matter, with the concern that the standards be not diluted in any way. When I resume my speech a bit later, I shall refer to this.

Finally, by way of introduction today, I may say that this issue, like almost every other issue that comes before us, has a federal-provincial component. There has been quite a movement afoot in Quebec to declare this horse as the horse of Quebec. There was a debate on this matter in the National Assembly a while ago; however, I have not taken the time to see with what result.

Let me say that I have no objection whatsoever to Quebec declaring this horse as their equine symbol, if that is what they desire. It is just another thing that Quebec has in common with the rest of the country. However, I do insist that from the very beginning the horse was known as the Canadien Horse. Later, in English, at the parliamentary committee at the turn of the 20th century it was referred to as the French Canadian Horse. Today, it is known again as the Canadien Horse and the breed is the Canadien Breed. Whatever action may have been taken by the National Assembly of Quebec, or whatever its wishes may be in this regard, there is nothing to prevent us from doing what I think we ought to do, which is to recognize this horse as the national horse of Canada.

With those few introductory remarks, honourable senators, now that you know some of the subjects that I will be dealing with at a later date and will have an opportunity to reflect on in the meantime, I will propose the adjournment of the debate.

On motion of Senator Murray, debate adjourned.