Mr. Speaker, yesterday Canada lost its favourite curmudgeon of political commentary with the passing away of Dalton Camp.
Familiar, especially to Toronto Star readers, Mr. Camp was an intelligent and witty writer whose Tory vision of Canada was too liberal for some and not conservative enough for others, but enormously influential nonetheless.
Dalton Camp passionately cared about the political process and the Progressive Conservative Party in particular. He deplored extremism of every stripe and was outspoken in his criticism of political opportunism. He demanded intellectual honesty of friends and enemies alike.
Mr. Camp has left an indelible mark on the political history of Canada and we all shall miss him.
As one of his former editors who knew firsthand something of his peppery personality, it is with both sadness and fondness that I say a final 30, a goodbye to Dalton.