I have another recognition.
Almost 150 years ago, journalists took their seats for the first time in the reporters’ gallery of the original Centre Block, and the Parliamentary Press Gallery was born.
Today, press gallery members continue to have a place set aside in this chamber, and they perform an important democratic function.
I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of two former hon. members of the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery:
Helen Brimmell, nee Bannerman, was the third woman in history to become an official member of the gallery, in 1946. She was one of only two women reporting on the Hill at the time. She worked for The Canadian Press, The Royal Gazette in Bermuda, the Oshawa Times-Gazette, and the Guelph Mercury. Helen retired in 1990.
Bernard Dufresne joined the Parliamentary Press Gallery in 1954 as a young Canadian Press journalist. He worked here until 1960 and then returned from 1963 to 1965 as a correspondent for The Globe and Mail. He then became a minister's assistant in the government of the day before joining the public service until he retired in 1989.