Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a veteran of Canadian journalism, Roger Smith.
Roger's 35 years of work was always solid, fair and worldly. Whether he was covering the Olympics in Barcelona, the protests at Tiananmen Square or the many elections in Canada, he carried himself with good humour and humility. His main passion though was always his family, his wife Denise and children Jade and Kai.
However, that is not the full story. We have learned through leaks from CTV's Ottawa bureau that, first, Roger's colleagues believe he had the best BS detector on the Hill. Second, no matter how busy, Roger would sneak out of the office for a 45-minute workout; his colleagues loved that. Third, on his last day of work, he left a note for the CTV team that said, “Work space for rent. I am gone, but hopefully never forgotten”.
Roger will never be forgotten.