Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the end of an era with the passing of Barney McCaffrey. Barney became an adopted son of the Ottawa Valley, eventually settling in the hills around Killaloe. He embraced the people of the Ottawa Valley and we embraced him.
Barney was a person who did not just talk the talk, he walked the walk. His early involvement in the Catholic worker movement eventually led him to the Madonna House Apostolate lay community in Combermere. As a devout Catholic, Barney celebrated life with a lifetime of concern for the less fortunate in our society.
Barney eschewed the trappings of modern society, preferring to live a simple life. He lived life off the grid before it was fashionable.
Barney was not afraid to stand up to the man. I remember a regular newspaper column he wrote in a Barry's Bay newspaper called Bite Back. He called out the new head of the Liberal Party for trampling the rights of rural residents as a lobbyist for industrial wind turbines. Barney always stood up for the little guy, in everything he did.
I ask that Barney go in peace and be proud of how he is remembered.