Mr. Speaker, I also rise to pay tribute to the memory of Fred McCain and to pay my respects to his family.
Although I never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. McCain, his reputation as a strong grassroots politician is well known. As others have mentioned, he served in this House from 1972 to 1988.
Mr. McCain was a politician with a hands-on approach to matters relating to his constituency. He had a genuine concern for his constituents.
As I read over the material about Mr. McCain, it struck me that, in particular, in his first year as a member of Parliament he logged over 50,000 miles travelling to each of the communities in his riding.
In the final years of his life his constituents would approach him and offer their thanks for the fine work he had done as their member of Parliament and in the legislative assembly.
Mr. McCain promised to do what he could for his constituents. He did what he promised. This was evident as he remained in politics, in elected life, for 34 years. I think all of us in this place can learn a thing or two from Mr. Fred McCain. He placed his constituents first and worked hard every day of those 34 years for his constituents.
Our best wishes go out to his wife Frances and to the entire McCain family. May Fred McCain rest in peace.