Mr. Speaker, the tributes the public paid to Stanley Knowles earlier this summer here in this building and in this city and in Winnipeg stand as a monument to a politician who cared deeply for his community and for his country.
Behind the legend there was a mortal who saw his public duty, who was prepared to engage in public life to change things, and millions of Canadians benefited from his efforts, the poor, the veterans, the aged, to name a few.
Mention has been made of the high honour the House gave to Mr. Knowles by making him an honorary officer and giving him a seat at the table. People who watched the proceedings of the House perhaps remember him in that capacity in his latter years.
As we set out at the beginning of this new Parliament perhaps it would be best to remember Stanley Knowles as a politician, a political warrior who was armed with the strongest armour that any of us can have, a writ of election and a seat in the House of Commons of Canada.
It gave him the ability to confront the issues of our time as he confronted the issues of his with determination, unfailing courtesy and hard work. The families of politicians inevitably pay a price for this dedication. I hope that the pride that they are entitled to feel at the end of Mr. Knowles' life tempers the sense of loss which, regardless of age and its infirmities, must still be great indeed.
He was a House of Commons gentleman, a politician, a parliamentarian, and we are better in this country because of his dedication to Canada. On behalf of my party here, our deepest sympathy goes out to Mr. Knowles' family. We want to say that we honoured him greatly and we still do in the remembrance of him.