Mr. Speaker, it is with the deepest respect that I rise today to join all the members of this House in honouring the memory of our colleague from Surrey North. I thank the members who have spoken before me, particularly for their personal reflections and the light they have shed on this wonderful life.
For many Canadians, Chuck Cadman is best known as the MP who, with the eyes of the whole nation upon him, voted to keep us all here doing the jobs Canadians sent us to do. I had the pleasure of shaking hands with him on the night of that vote, and in that moment, with that glimmer in his eye and a mischievous grin on his face, it was confirmed for me that Chuck Cadman was not just an independent member of Parliament but truly an independent spirit.
He knew what he stood for and he stood up for what he believed in, not just on that night but in everything he did.
Even when he was first elected, Chuck remained impartial. He was here to fight for change, for results. He was prepared to work with all the parties to ensure that other families would not have to endure the pain and suffering that his family went through when his son Jesse died.
He was a legendary advocate for victims' rights. He counselled, with support and understanding, the families of victims. He brought their grief, their loss and their demands for change to this place. His life was a testament to how tragedy can spur work for positive change.
I was in Surrey on the day Chuck Cadman lost his battle with cancer. On the faces in the coffee shops and in the voices of those with whom I was able to speak on the streets, there was a deep sense of loss for the MP they simply knew as “Chuck”.
All of us in this House have been drawn to politics for various reasons. The reasons that prompted Chuck Cadman to come here were tragically beyond his control.
But come here he did. In the time he was here, in the time we had to know him, he reminded all of us of a sense of purpose, to give voice to the voiceless, to protect those who cannot protect themselves, and to do this with a sense of humility that befits the great responsibility of having the two letters MP follow one's name.
On behalf of New Democrats, I thank his wife Dona and his daughter Jodi for sharing him with us.