Mary Dawson passed on December 24, 2023. I want to share a couple of notable points about her and why this is so important. I appreciate colleagues' agreement for this to be before committee and to report it to the House.
She wasn't just the Ethics Commissioner. She was pretty remarkable. Her fingerprints are all over very important parts of our history, including her having drafted the Access to Information Act, the Privacy Act, the Canada Health Act, the Official Languages Act, the Competition Act, the Customs Act and the Young Offenders Act.
She was made a member of the Queen's Counsel in 1978 and became associate chief legislative counsel in the early 1980s. Aside from being the associate deputy minister of justice for nearly two decades, she was particularly proud of her constitutional work, including being the final drafter for the patriation package on the Constitution Act, 1982, and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
That is a very brief, incomplete and not fulsome summary of her impressive service as a public servant to our country and her work as commissioner in calling balls and strikes. I think the mark of a good Ethics Commissioner is one who makes members of all parties equally uncomfortable, and she did that well.
Canada was well served by her contributions, and I appreciate colleagues' consideration of the motion.