Raymond C. Setlakwe, (3 July 1928 – 14 October 2021) was a Canadian entrepreneur, lawyer and

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Biography

Born in

Thetford Mines Thetford Mines (; Canada 2021 Census population 26,072) is a city in south-central Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of Les Appalaches Regional County Municipality. The city is located in the Appalachian Mountains, 187 km east-northeast of Mo ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, of

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

n descent, Setlakwe graduated from

Bishop's College School Bishop's College School or BCS is an English-language non-profit independent school, independent boarding school, boarding College-preparatory school, prep school in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada for students in Grades 7 to 12.Thomson, Ashley; L ...

and received a Bachelor of Arts from

Bishop's University Bishop's University () is a small English-language Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Diocese of Quebec, Anglican Bishop of Quebec ...

and an L.L.L from

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

in Quebec. He was summoned to the Senate in 2000 on the advice of

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a retired Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. He served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, leader of t ...

and represented the

senatorial division Canadian Senate divisions refers to two aspects of the Senate of Canada. First, it refers to the division of Canada into four regional Senate divisions of 24 senators each, as set out in section 22 of the Constitution Act, 1867.The Constitution Ac ...

of The Laurentides, Quebec. He was a member of the Liberal caucus and retired at the age of 75 in 2003. In 1996, he was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. On 4 June 2016, the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, J. Michel Doyon, presented Setlakwe with the prestigious ‘Outstanding Merit” medal, due to his professional background and his extensive involvement in various social causes in the Thetford area. Setlakwe played a role in the Canadian

recognition of the Armenian genocide Armenian genocide recognition is the formal acceptance of the fact that the Ottoman Empire's systematic massacres and forced deportation of Armenians from 1915 to 1923, both during and after the First World War, constituted genocide. Most h ...

, taking on the cause in the Senate, culminating in the June 2002 recognition of the upper house. The Senator stated: "Humanity is far from being safe from a repetition of this massacre. Therefore, it is all the more important that the genocide be recognized," he added, "Africa and many other places in the world are threatened by this sort of barbaric behaviour." He died on 14 October 2021, aged 93 at a hospital in Thetford Mines. His niece Michelle Setlakwe was elected to the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (, ) is the Legislature, legislative body of the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; ). The lieutenant governor of Que ...

in the

2022 Quebec general election The 2022 Quebec general election was held on October 3, 2022, to elect the members of the National Assembly of Quebec. Under the province's Fixed election dates in Canada, fixed election date law, passed in 2013, "the general election following t ...

.Susan Schwartz
"Liberals retain strongholds in central and western Montreal"
''

Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'', October 4, 2022.

References

External links

* 1928 births 2021 deaths Bishop's College School alumni Bishop's University alumni Canadian people of Armenian descent Canadian senators from Quebec Liberal Party of Canada senators Members of the Order of Canada People from Thetford Mines Université Laval alumni Université Laval Faculté de droit alumni 21st-century members of the Senate of Canada {{Quebec-senator-stub