Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to rise and pay tribute to William Kempling, the former member of Parliament for Burlington and the former riding of Halton-Wentworth.
Bill Kempling passed away on May 27 at the age of 75 and will be remembered by all as a dedicated public servant. I think it is interesting, on this day of tribute and at the funeral service on Friday, that we learn so much about all of the work that he has done, the people he mentored, some of whom are here today, Shirley Martin and Barbara McDougall, and how great he was for newly elected members. It is unfortunate that all of us work so hard and constituents and the general public do not hear about that work and so it is terrific to be here to pay tribute to Mr. Kempling.
The Kempling family sacrificed a lot of their time with Bill so that he could serve Canadians. And serve he did. Together the team of Muriel and Bill Kempling worked hard from 1972 to 1993.
A true survivor, as we have heard, Bill Kempling survived childhood polio to serve as an officer in the RCAF and was a successful business person prior to his election. As a parliamentarian he served as the party whip to Prime Minister Clark and as parliamentary secretary to several ministers. He inspired loyalty and dedication among his staff and I have heard nothing but terrific stories from them.
Mr. Kempling worked hard for the Canadian steel industry as chair of the all party steel caucus. He was very active in the Canada-Japan interparliamentary group. He was a history buff and he left me very large shoes to fill.
In their retirement Muriel and Bill Kempling faced another challenge which they survived with strength and dignity but they could not beat. Post-polio syndrome claimed a true parliamentarian on May 27. It also claimed a husband, father, grandfather and a friend to many.
My prayers and thoughts are with you, Muriel, Jane, Bruce and Angus. God bless.