Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to join with other members in the House in expressing the deep condolences of all members in the New Democratic Party to the family and friends of Alf Hales and in particular to express our heart-felt sympathy to his wife, Mary, their three children, nine grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
As has been mentioned by other members, Alf Hales was a member for Wellington South for 17 years and felt very deep roots in the Guelph community.
Having been born and raised in a community very close to Guelph, a place called Winterbourne, Ontario, I feel a particular sense of loss at hearing the news of the passing of Alf Hales.
But mostly today I single out the fact that Alf Hales was the founder of the federal parliamentary internship program. He conceived of the idea in 1965 and although it was not until 1969 that the House agreed to implement the federal parliamentary internship program, it became a reality and has been with us now for almost 30 years. That took incredible foresight, vision and courage and in fact a lot of persistence that is so evident in the career of Alfred Hales. He in fact had a private members' bill before the House year after year until finally it was agreed to and became a reality in 1969 with the first group of interns being established in 1969-70.
I rise not only as a member of the House but as a former parliamentary intern, in fact the only parliamentary intern to end up pursuing a career in federal politics. I am deeply grateful for his pioneering spirit and the contribution he has made to so many in the country.
I speak today on behalf of all federal parliamentary interns, past and present, whose lives have been enriched by this program. It has offered an incredible opportunity for so many young people over the years to combine practical learning with academic analysis, helping us all to pursue our respective careers in a more effective way.
In fact it was in 1972, and I quote from an article in Time magazine, that we get the true reason or sense of this program from Mr. Alfred Hales own words when he said: “The experiment brings the interns out of the ivory tower and puts them into a world of reality”.
By founding this program, Alfred Hales has done a great service for the country and helped ensure a high calibre of young people prepared to make a great contribution to the country.
I suggest that we can best honour the life and work of Alfred Hales by remembering our own roots, our roots in family, in church and community but more specifically by pledging to ensure that the federal parliamentary internship program continues as a part of this institution and an integral part of our parliamentary traditions.