Madam Speaker, on October 22 of this year, Canada lost one of its great women. The Hon. Wilma Helen Hunley, a distinguished Albertan, passed away at the age of 90 in her hometown of Rocky Mountain House.
Helen began her political career as a town councillor from 1960 to 1966 before moving on to become the mayor of Rocky Mountain House from 1966 to 1971. In 1971, she was elected to Alberta's legislative assembly where she served as solicitor general from 1973 to 1975 and then minister of social services and community health until she resigned in 1979.
In June 1980, Helen was appointed chair of the Alberta Mental Health Advisory Council, before becoming the president of the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta in 1984.
In 1985, under the advice of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Helen was the first woman ever to be appointed to the position of Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, a post she held until 1991. In 1992, she was made an officer of the Order of Canada.
I know all members will join me in honouring the life of the Hon. Wilma Helen Hunley, a great Albertan and a great woman. She will be dearly missed.