Senator Joe Day (Retired) found his time in the Senate interesting and sometimes challenging.
Senator Day had a rich and varied career prior to his Senate appointment in 2001. He studied electrical engineering at the Royal Military College, and later earned a law degree from Queen’s University. A focus on business law prepared him for a career in the business world and he was legal counsel for the J. D. Irving Co. in New Brunswick. Senator Day showed his interest in the political process throughout this period, and in 2001 during Prime Minister Jean Chrétien’s term of office, he accepted an appointment to the Canadian Senate representing the province of New Brunswick until his retirement in January 2020.
For his presentation to the Stittsville Rotary on February 10, 2021, Senator Day outlined the roles and responsibilities of the Senate, including the areas of legislation, accountability and constituency representation. He stressed that the Senate is important for providing “a sober second thought” to the legislative process. Senators have the time and expertise to suggest useful amendments to proposed legislation and have played an important role in researching and reporting on major issues in Canadian life such as poverty and human rights. In the question period, Senator Day discussed the merits of an appointed chamber, the exceptional qualifications of many of the Senators, and ongoing challenges with forging consensus among competing views.
Senator Day indicated that he was proud to have served as the Interim Leader of the Progressive Senate Group after leading the Senate Liberal Caucus for 4 years. As well, he served on Senate committees and international forums in his areas of interest, such as science and technology, defense, veteran’s issues, international trade, human rights, heritage and literacy. His objective always was to serve the people of Canada to make their lives as fulfilling as possible.
Senator Day recently retired from the Senate after serving for 18 years and returned to New Brunswick where he continues to be an active member in his community.
As Rotarian Burt stated in her thank-you to him on behalf of the club – “Senator Day is an inspiration to us for all the work he has done to make Canada a better place.”