Mr. Speaker, long time news anchor Harvey Kirck has died at age 73. Harvey, who was proud to say he was never known as Mr. Kirck, had the common touch and the gruff, direct delivery that endeared him to a generation of Canadian listeners.
Born in 1928, he began his long career at radio and TV stations around Ontario and out west in Calgary. He spent 20 years as the anchor and co-anchor of the CTV Evening News , surpassing the venerable Walter Cronkite in longevity and certainly matching him in the sense of trust and respect in which he was regarded by his audience.
Though he retired from the evening news in 1984 he did not leave broadcasting. He had stints with Canada AM and W5 and displayed his simple love for his country with shows like Inside Canada and Sketches of Our Town . Harvey Kirck signed off his last newscast with the words “With a heartfelt thank you, I think we should carry on as usual”.
On behalf of the House I thank Harvey for years of excellent service to Canadian journalism.