I want to thank the hon. members for Abbotsford, Cloverdale—Langley City, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, Montcalm and Saanich—Gulf Islands for their very eloquent comments, to which I think we all want to attach ourselves.
Mark Warawa will be missed by all of us. He was a dedicated member of Parliament whose constituents' faith in him returned him to the House an impressive five times. Even more important, he was a good and kind man.
I knew him for many years. We served together in the committee on natural resources. We would often chat when walking back and forth between the House and committee. In all the years I knew him, whether it was privately or in the House or in committee, I never once heard him speak to or about anyone with malice.
He spoke here of course on May 7, his last appearance in the House, and it seems like only moments ago. He spoke with calm and serene confidence and courage. He still had some hope that maybe there would be a solution for him, something that would overcome this problem with cancer, but he also knew what might lie ahead and he faced it with serenity and courage.
He spoke about his work as a member of Parliament, his love for this place and love for his constituents. He spoke, of course, about his wife Diane and his love for her and for his children and grandchildren, to whom we all offer our condolences. Those people meant a lot to him, as I know his constituents did.
Colleagues, if we are all the poorer for his passing, we are the richer for having known him.
I invite all hon. members to stand to observe a moment of silence in honour of our dear colleague Mark Warawa.
[A moment of silence observed]