Mr. Speaker, I rise today to invite you and my colleagues in this House to pay tribute to the late Detective Constable William Hancox who was killed on duty August 4 of this year.
Billy Hancox was not a man the world would call a hero. He was not a famous general, a superior athlete or a noted statesman. He was our neighbour, a decent man whose wife Kimberley and daughter Sandra will remember his kindness and happy nature. His son Sean, born after his death, will tragically never know him.
Billy Hancox wanted to be a police officer to serve and protect the rest of us in the community and he lost his life doing so. Every time he went to work he knew there were risks but he accepted that responsibility.
We should expand our understanding of the word hero to include Billy Hancox, his wife and his family who represent everything that is honourable in Canadian society.