Mr. Speaker, with Remembrance Day approaching, it is my honour to pay tribute to Mr. Vince Mathews, a veteran in my riding who just celebrated his 100th birthday.
Vince was raised on a farm near Weyburn, Saskatchewan. He is one of nine children. Vince was herding cattle when he was just nine years old. He remembers his family's first car, a Ford, bought in 1914. Vince is a second world war veteran who fought in Italy and the Netherlands. After the war Vince returned to Canada and lived in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
He became an alderman in Regina and knew John Diefenbaker when they worked together to establish the University of Saskatchewan. Vince became a history teacher and told me his favourite philosopher was Thomas Aquinas.
Vince and his wife had three daughters. He swam in both the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans, and is involved with the Knights of Columbia.
Happy birthday, Vince, and in his own words, “When you are 100 you can eat as much bacon and chocolate as you want. It won't hurt you now”.