Mr. Speaker, today I rise on behalf of our caucus and our entire Conservative family to mourn the loss of our friend, Royal Galipeau, who passed away this weekend at the age of 71.
Royal was an incredible parliamentarian. Rarely missing a vote, even in the midst of his battle with cancer, he saw himself as a servant of the people, one with a duty to leave our institutions better than he found them.
His contributions included serving as city councillor and a leader with the Ottawa Library Board.
I was proud to have personally witnessed his wonderful parliamentary mind at work when we served together as deputy speakers.
He rarely let party politics stand in the way of what he cared about most. We will all remember Royal as a staunch defender of official languages in Canada, his lifelong passion, regardless of his political affiliation. The thoughts and prayers of everyone in our caucus are with Royal's wife, Anne, and their children as they mourn the loss of a beloved member of their family.
We thank his family for sharing Royal with us and with the people of Ottawa-Orléans.