Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise to pay tribute to Shaughnessy Cohen whose tragic death last night has shaken us all.
In politics partisanship often clouds what is truly important in life. Shaughnessy's tragic death puts everything we do in perspective. On behalf of the official opposition I extend my heartfelt condolences to her very many friends and family, especially to her husband Jerome and her stepdaughter Dena.
Words are little consolation at a sorrowful time like this and expressions of friendship from colleagues will just begin to fill the very large void left in so many hearts. Permit me to share my feelings today, if only to tell Canada who it lost last night.
I liked Shaughnessy's style. I liked her energy. I admired her tenacity. I respected her forceful advocacy for the causes she believed in and the constituents she represented. I also appreciated her kindness and wonderful sense of humour. That was the amazing thing about this woman from Windsor. She was a seemingly impossible combination of vigorous partisanship and of open minded friendship. Those of us on this side of the House should know because we have been on the receiving end of both.
There will never be another quite like her. Shaughnessy led a life of public service. She was a crown prosecutor for years and brought her love of justice to parliament in 1993. Later she became chair of the justice committee.
Although we were from different parties, Shaughnessy earned a lot of respect from this side of the aisle. I remember meeting with her privately to talk about victims rights, an issue she helped champion through the justice committee. I knew then this was a woman who put solving problems ahead of raw partisanship.
I also witnessed firsthand how she put people first. When one of our MPs was down on his luck and when others would have kept their distance from him, Shaughnessy sat with him and spent time with him, quietly demonstrating her kindness and compassion in his hour of need.
She had a sharp mind. All who had the good fortune to meet her quickly sensed that. She chaired the justice committee with a healthy dose of humour and in a manner that always treated witnesses with respect and dignity. She made them feel comfortable and she made us feel comfortable too.
She came by her public mindedness naturally. Her parents worked for their local community, founding a school, volunteering at a food bank and passing on to Shaughnessy a deep commitment to help others.
It is my wish that Shaughnessy's spirit, her tenacious commitment to her constituents and her keen sense of fun will remain in this place for a long time to come. We will truly miss Shaughnessy Cohen.