Hon. Bernadette Clement: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to the inquiry opened by my friend and sibling in the Senate Senator Sorensen, who has spoken so powerfully about the nation-building value of tourism.

When I tell people I’m from Cornwall, I often hear, “Oh yes, I’ve driven past that on my way to Montreal or Toronto.” I heard it again last night at a reception.

Or I’ll hear, “Isn’t that the city that smells terrible?”

Let me set the record straight, here and now. When you’re on Highway 401, you have three opportunities to take the off-ramp to my home city. Take that opportunity, especially in the summer, and you’ll discover that the paper mill is closed. We mourned the loss of that paper mill — we still do — but the smell is gone.

You may be thinking: Is this speech just an ad for tourism in Akwesasne, Cornwall and the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry? Yes and no.

My thesis — and it is a thesis — will be illustrated by examples from these beloved areas, just in time for you to consider a stop this summer.

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What I’ll argue is this: If you are looking for hope and optimism during difficult times, if you are seeking connection and community or if you want a reminder of the best that Canada can be, there is no better way to find it than through local tourism.

Take Upper Canada Village as an example. It’s a reminder of our past and how nation building forever altered our local landscape with the building of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Upper Canada Village is a beloved place, made even more welcoming and inclusive after author Keisha Cuffie told its stories from a Black perspective. They will celebrate Emancipation Day on August 1, and you’re invited. We all need more connection to our history, and this is an exceptional place to start.

While you’re in the area, take in the Glengarry Highland Games, where a community of fewer than 1,000 welcomes tens of thousands of visitors. Scotland doesn’t seem so far away when you’re surrounded by hundreds of bagpipes and kilts in Maxville, Ontario, or — as Senator Coyle told us in her speech to this inquiry — in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Over 75 years after the first games, this event is a source of immense pride for locals. Honourable senators, you’re invited. You don’t need to be Scottish to appreciate these games.

The Akwesasne Powwow takes place every September on the weekend after Labour Day. Honourable colleagues, you are all invited to attend. The best dancers, drummers and artisans of the region gather there to compete and connect. Try some strawberry juice, shop for gorgeous beaded earrings and engage in reconciliACTION through education, connection and celebration.

[Translation]

In September, the town is transformed once again for Franco-Ontarian Day. Students from La Citadelle and L’Héritage proudly display their Franco-Ontarian identity by parading through the town dressed in green and white to the sound of the songs Notre place and Mon beau drapeau. Cornwall’s francophone community thrives every day, but it is most visible and most celebrated on September 25.

[English]

And Cornwall loves a celebration, by the way: Pride, Culture Fest, Cornwall’s Night Market, Festival International Afro & Diversités de Cornwall SDG, Fiesta Filipino, Devfest, Cornwall Art Walk and many county fairs.

The village, the games, the powwow, the festivals and the marches exist because hundreds of people commit their time, skills and energy to projects bigger than themselves.

The same goes for eastern Ontario’s agri-tourism: strawberry, blueberry and apple picking, lavender fields, sugar shacks, sunflower farms, alpacas, skating trails and a pizza farm — yes, a pizza farm! Fraser Creek grows as many ingredients as they can for their pizzas, and the rest is sourced locally. Cornwall pizza is some of the best in Ontario. I have so many Cornwall pizza T‑shirts, folks, from when I was mayor of Cornwall. I take them out on the weekends. Our pizza is second to none.

Farmers in eastern Ontario grow more than corn and they produce more than milk. They offer a connection to the land and to the people who keep us fed and nourished.

[Translation]

People come from far and wide to fish on the St. Lawrence River, which gives them an opportunity to reconnect with a living history. This waterway has fed Indigenous communities for countless generations and continues to do so. Well before the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway, the St. Lawrence River served as a major trade route that supported agriculture, travel and many people’s livelihoods.

We are very proud of the River Institute, a leader when it comes to governance, partnership and youth engagement. Many communities along the St. Lawrence River that rely on the waterway, such as Cornwall, have appointed themselves as guardians of the river.

Our first-rate green space, Lamoureux Park, connects us to the waterway. The bike path there not only connects communities along the river but also attracts cyclists from across the region.

[English]

Our bike paths along the river are fabulous.

I was in Montreal in Mile End recently in a bookstore. To tell you the truth, it was a brand new romance bookstore. My arms were full of romance novels and, of course, at that moment, I was recognized as the former mayor of Cornwall. I was recognized because that city, this city, our city, my city is the most wonderful city for waterfront bike paths.

On the banks of the St. Lawrence River is the Port Lands — an idea and a partnership full of potential for connection and economic reconciliation. You’ve heard me speak of the Port Lands before. Co-owned by Akwesasne and Cornwall, its development could draw in more visitors and give us an opportunity to see and to live the possibilities of relationship building.

You can’t get more nation building than a project that is connected to 50-50 ownership of riverfront land between a municipality and a First Nation. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. I’m just saying: Imagine what we’re learning about economic reconciliation here. It makes us feel competent and unafraid of the challenge of full partnership.

More than ever, we need stories like these about partnerships that can tackle something big, set the tone for an entire region and say to both locals and visitors alike: You’re welcome here.

Honourable senators, you’re welcome in eastern Ontario, where you’ll find examples of all that’s good about this country.

Thank you. Nia:wen.