Mr. Speaker, one of Canada's female political pioneers, Order of Canada recipient Jean Casselman Wadds, of Prescott, in my riding of Leeds—Grenville, passed away November 25.
Mrs. Casselman Wadds became an MP in a byelection following the death of her husband, A. C. Casselman, who was MP from 1921 until 1958.
She and her father, the Hon. Earl Rowe, remain the only father and daughter ever to sit as MPs in the same session. Mrs. Casselman Wadds became the first woman in Canada to be a parliamentary secretary.
She was the first woman appointed by the Canadian government as a delegate to the United Nations and in 1979 she was the first woman appointed Canadian High Commissioner to Great Britain.
Prime Minister Trudeau credited Mrs. Casselman Wadds as one of three key women responsible for the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution, along with Queen Elizabeth and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
She was always kind to me, and I offer my condolences to the family of Jean Casselman Wadds, her daughter Nancy and son Clair, and the community she served so well for so long.