Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a great patriot, who, after a long life of service and sacrifice, duty and discipline to community and country, has gone home to his Lord and Saviour.
Claude Bennett was humble but had nothing to be humble about. His 27 years as an alderman and member of provincial Parliament were distinguished. He saved countless lives by helping to bring the Ottawa Heart Institute to this city, an institute that, in the end, did three surgeries on him alone. He was relentless in his support of the community. He chaired Triple-A baseball, was the head of the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame and became the president of the Canadian exhibition here in Ottawa.
He continued into his later years, playing an amazing 54 holes of golf on his 75th birthday and regularly walking as much as 10 miles in a single day. He is the great patriarch of the legendary Bennett family.
We all pay tribute to him and his life. He lives on through his family and friends in this world even as he passes into the next.