The Honourable Daniel Lang
Hon. Tobias C. Enverga, Jr.: Honourable senators, I rise today to congratulate one of our colleagues, Senator Daniel Lang, who represents Yukon in this chamber.
On Christmas Day last year, Postmedia’s Anthony Furey named our distinguished colleague from the North, Best Politician in 2016.
Some Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!
Senator Enverga: It is not often, at least not recently, that a member of the Senate has such a title bestowed upon them. This is why I wanted to congratulate Senator Lang, who I consider a good friend, for having put the Senate on the media’s political map in a positive way.
Honourable senators, Postmedia, in qualifying its claim, highlights Senator Lang’s tireless work as chair of the National Security and Defence Committee, especially on the anti-terrorism file. As we all know, Senator Lang has an ability to cut through the verbiage and state the clear, simple questions that may not be easy to answer.
An example is his line of questions on March 7, when the committee heard from Michel Coulombe, the Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, about the issue of persons being suspected of committing terrorism-related activities or having returned to Canada from conducting such activities abroad. “. . . maybe I’m just a boy from Whitehorse. . .” Senator Lang started his questioning. “Why are we leaving them on the street . . . those that are coming back? Am I missing something here?” For those who wonder what the response was, I can share that it was up to the RCMP to answer, not CSIS, according to Mr. Coulombe. Senator Lang’s style is clear, concise, direct and humble — a style that is often highly effective in our work.
Honourable senators, in addition to congratulating Senator Lang for having his work recognized by members of the media, I want to congratulate all members of our National Security and Defence Committee for the stellar work they performed last year.
Some Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!
Senator Enverga: Although I have pointed out one senator and one committee for their work, this is a sign of the good work of all honourable senators, not to mention their staff and all those who support our roles here.
Several committees have produced reports of excellent quality and managed to capture the media’s attention. I see it as a trend and I trust that all honourable senators will continue to do their part to keep the Senate of Canada relevant, as we always have been, and keep telling the public and members of the media what we do and why we do it.
Honourable senators, let us continue our great work and successes as we embark on another year with drive and determination.
Congratulations yet again, Dan, on being the best politician of 2016. Thank you.
Some Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!