Mr. Speaker, today Canadian parliamentarians honour one of the greatest of their own, Stanley Knowles.
Mr. Knowles, who takes his place in front of you, Mr. Speaker, represents the finest traditions of Canadian public life. First elected in a byelection in 1942, Mr. Knowles quickly demonstrated his extraordinary knowledge of and exceptional devotion to the rules and history of Parliament.
For 41 years he served his constituents of Winnipeg North Centre with careful attention to their needs while always recognizing his commitment to his faith, his party and his country.
Later we will gather to honour the creation of the Stanley Knowles Chair of Canadian Studies at St. Paul's College at the University of Waterloo, a college affiliated with the United Church, a church in which Mr. Knowles was an ordained minister.
At a time when university chairs tend to honour those who have large stock portfolios, it is so refreshing that St. Paul's College has chosen to create a chair in honour of Stanley Knowles, a man of most modest material means but one who has contributed so much to the richness of Canadian public and political life.
Mr. Speaker and colleagues, let us honour one of our own, one who represents the best of what we are and can be.