Mr. Speaker, I wanted to add a couple of very brief comments. We as members of Parliament have the privilege of being able to express on the floor of the House our affection, our respect and our sense of loss of our friend Steve Paproski.
I know a number of members have spoken of the respect that Steve treated everyone with. I wanted to take a moment to remind the House of the fact that Steve Paproski as a deputy speaker and as a member of this House for many years had tremendous respect and love from the people who worked on the Hill: the messengers, the people in the cafeteria and all those people who cannot speak here today.
I was on the Hill shortly after Steve died. I was struck by the number of people working here who in a very emotional and very strong way talked about the sense of loss they felt for their friend Steve. I know that they would want us on the floor of this House to acknowledge and recognize the kind of respect that Steve showed everyone on the Hill as a person and as a deputy speaker.
He was a big man. He was a strong man. He was also a very gentle man. Reference has been made to his smile. I learned long ago that when Steve was smiling the widest you had to look out. He had a big smile but behind that smile was a very shrewd and calculating mind. You knew that if he was going to stick it to you, he was smiling just a little bit wider. He treated everyone with respect. He loved his family.
I might say personally that I deeply appreciated the support he gave to me. In the spring of 1988 I made a fairly difficult decision to come out publicly as a gay man. It was not easy.
Some of my colleagues were a little uncomfortable with that. I will never forget in this House shortly thereafter Steve putting his arm around me and saying: "You know, Svend, I don't really understand this stuff but you're my friend and you're the same person to me today that you were yesterday".
I will miss Steve tremendously. I know he loved his family very much. To Betty and to the children I extend my sincere condolences. We loved him too and we will miss him very, very much.