Mr. Speaker, no three words could stop spring cleaning or quiet a car full of nine year olds quite like Dave and Morley.
Stuart McLean was one of Canada's great storytellers, and he passed away yesterday. People did not need to be near a radio to hear this news. The story spread across the country in the most proper way to define this man, person to person to person.
When Stuart McLean started a story, people were never quite sure if they were going to burst out laughing or shed a tear. He made the characters of Dave and Morley, Stephanie and Sam, and Arthur the dog so real that we felt like they lived around the corner.
Stuart gave voice to this country. He shared our music with us. He shared my hometown with others and others with mine.
As a former colleague, as one of my former constituents, and as a neighbour, I have lost a friend. Our country has lost a gentle soul. His family has lost so much more.
The Vinyl Cafe may be dark today, but Stuart McLean's stories will be told forever more in Canada.
To quote Stuart, “So long for now”.