Mr. Speaker, I have served along with Mr. Gray since I arrived here in 1968 when he was only in his 6th year in parliament. On behalf of our caucus I am proud to rise and pay tribute to a great Canadian and great parliamentarian, the Right Hon. Herb Gray.
Mr. Gray is the third longest serving member of parliament in the history of our country. He has served with eight prime ministers and politically outlived all but one of them. He was a great parliamentarian. He was a model public servant. He was at the same time intensely political. He has a mastery of our procedure and a mastery of the House of Commons.
He was elected in 1962. Re-elected 12 times in a row, he has been an MP, minister, leader of the opposition, minister again and, finally, deputy prime minister of Canada.
Now he is entering a new incarnation as chair of the International Joint Commission. He is a veritable force of nature.
When I reflect on Herb Gray whom I have known well since 1968 I have in mind four images and four different Herbs. First, there is Herb the parliamentarian, the Gray fog. He was a master at frustrating opposition questions. Mr. Gray, those of us in opposition look forward to the day when we are on the government side responding to questions from opposition Liberal MPs and saying we reject the premise of the hon. member's question.
Second, I think of Herb the comeback kid. He was in cabinet. He was later relieved of his cabinet duties. He later came back to cabinet. He was also the comeback kid in terms of health. He came back from a serious illness and is now fit and trim. Both these events are a tribute to his strength, perseverance and determination.
Third, I remember Herbmania, the phenomenon that scared the member from Shawinigan about 11 or 12 years ago. In 1990 as the then leader of the opposition Mr. Gray made a famous self-deprecating speech at the press gallery dinner during the course of a Liberal leadership campaign. The speech sparked an instant draft Herb campaign and chants of Herb, Herb, Herb. His response to the draft campaign was that if he ran he would put a paper hanger on every Liberal delegate's hotel door that read “Do not disturb, I'm with Herb”. He just told me he should have run.
Fourth, I think of Herb Gray's personal side. I think of disco Herb, the king of rock and roll. He kept this side of his personality a bit of a secret for a long time but his love of rock and roll and of visiting discos soon became legendary around Ottawa and Windsor. He also had a sense of humour. Mind you, being a member of the Liberal government requires a sense of humour.
We are sorry to see him go. We wish him well. We offer well wishes to his wife Sharon Sholzberg-Gray who is a strong advocate of public health care. We wish his children and family well.
I will conclude by quoting the immortal words of Mr. Gray's fellow rocker, the great Canadian entertainer Neil Young who sang “Keep on rockin' in the free world”.
Mr. Gray, I wish you good health and good luck. Au revoir.