We seldom speak about love in this place, yet who can deny that this force in our lives, above all others, transcends our daily troubles and binds us to one another?
In the frantic moments of last Wednesday, many of us found ourselves side by side with people from other parties and with the people who make this place work, the staff of the House of Commons.
I had the good fortune to find myself with Jud Simpson and the employees in food services who nourish us every day. Jud, Rabiâ, and Dominique, the senior staff, maintained supreme calm under the circumstances. They showed love and compassion for others in the building by continually contacting security with an offer to deliver food to those in lockdown.
Imagine if only love and compassion permeated our every action? Too often, we are coloured by fear.
The love of my wife, Amanda MacDonald; my daughter Pera; my mother, Linda St-Maurice; Penny, Ian and Ryan MacDonald; Neil and Carol Nicholls; and friends and citizens of Vaudreuil—Soulanges is what carried me through these difficult circumstances.
I believe Barbara Winters, in comforting Nathan Cirillo in his last moments, gave the most important message we could give anyone in this life: “You are so loved.”
Let us build a society based upon love, for freedom is only valuable if we integrate it with love.