Mr. Speaker, I want to express on behalf of this caucus and all members of the House our best wishes to Ed Whalen.
Yesterday in Florida, Ed suffered a massive coronary and is on life support in a hospital. His beloved wife Nomi is by his side and I know that Ed will derive great strength from her presence.
Ed Whalen has been a fixture on the sports and charity scene in Calgary for nearly a half century. It can be said that Ed gave more back to the community than he could have ever got in return. All community causes have gained something from his support. No matter how busy or how rushed he was, if somebody stopped to talk, he always found a bit of extra time to say hello.
Our thoughts, prayers and best wishes go out from this place at this time to Ed Whalen, to Nomi and his family and all their friends. To use one of Ed's favourite expressions, we hope Ed overcomes this “malfunction at the junction” and comes back home from Florida soon to continue his good deeds and good life as an outstanding Calgarian.