Earlier this week, we had the wonderful opportunity to meet many amazing young women from the Ottawa region. Thanks to Senate colleagues, we enjoyed rich and thoughtful discussions about leadership, gender equality, and the obstacles that women still face to this day.

On this day, we come together to celebrate girls everywhere and to advocate for the full spectrum of girls’ rights. This day allows us to recognize not only the achievements of girls and young women all across the world but also the challenges that they face every day.

Happy International Day of the Girl!

This World Mental Health Day, let us move beyond awareness and work toward ensuring everyone has access to the conditions, care and support that allow all to live with dignity and well-being.

Mental health resources cannot simply be layered onto institutions and structures that themselves contribute to human suffering. Meaningful change requires us to confront the conditions and practices that cause and compound harm.

When people experiencing mental health challenges encounter systems that stigmatize, exclude or punish them, rather than support them, those systems are part of the problem.

for example, people subjected to isolation can experience serious psychological, physical and neurological harm, particularly when deprived of meaningful human contact, care and support.

We must also consider how the systems and institutions people interact with can compound mental distress. In prisons,

For those struggling to meet their basic needs, conversations about wellness and self-care can ring hollow when the conditions creating and/or contributing to their distress remain unaddressed.

Poverty, housing and food insecurity, discrimination, isolation and barriers to accessing care all have profound effects on mental health.

As climate-related emergencies become more and more disruptive, protecting our communities and our economy means making sure everyone has access to the support and resources necessary to meet their essential needs.

Canada must also ensure communities are afforded the resources they need to prevent tragedies.

With 80% of Indigenous communities in Canada located in areas that make them more vulnerable to wildfires, Canada's emergency response plans must recognize the overall inequalities of Indigenous Peoples and their communities.

Today, I asked the Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience what the government is doing to protect communities on the front lines of the climate crisis.

"Being poor is living in one long emergency, with no resources." An emergency doesn't ask if you've proven you deserve help first, it demands a response. A basic income is that response, a standing floor so no one has to survive crisis after crisis with nothing to fall back on.

Today, we thank all the fabulous teachers who work to prepare the leaders of the future! Endless appreciation and gratitude to all of you!