Mr. Speaker, I thank all the previous speakers.
I knew Gail Shea. Of the people we have paid tribute to today, though I knew them all, it was only with Gail Shea that I served at the same time in an overlapping period. She was always a great person to visit with, to have fun with and to chat with. She was certainly formidable. It has already been noted that she was a trailblazer.
I want to mention, of course, one aspect of her political success. Coming from the Maritimes myself, I know this was the case, or I am pretty sure it was, but Prince Edward Islanders can correct me if I have this wrong. As far as I can tell, in the years that I have known Prince Edward Islanders of different parties in politics, there had never been a time when a Prince Edward Island MP got elected to Parliament, joined a federal cabinet and then survived the next election. There tended to be a bit of a tradition of defeating anybody who ended up in cabinet. I am looking over at some of my friends here, and I cannot say their names out loud, to see if I got that wrong, but I think she was the very first.
We know she was the first federal minister woman to enter any cabinet from Prince Edward Island in this country. She served at the provincial level, and she served in the cabinet of Stephen Harper. She survived to run again and get re-elected.
She was, as we know, someone of great energy, good humour and a very big heart to welcome all. I think of what it must have been like for her that, in 2021, she lost her dear husband Russell. The two of them had 45 years of marriage. I still think she died very young at 66. They had 45 years of marriage and five children. That is a rich life before we count the number of successes she experienced in politics, the number of times she was elected, and the numbers of times and the different ways in which she served.
One of my favourite memories, and I cannot remember why it was, but of course this is Canada, so we were sitting with each other on an airplane. She was Irish and both of us were Christian. I said that reminded me that I had known a friend, an Irish small child, when I was a small child. This friend had misunderstood, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life”. I told Gail that this friend had thought all through her childhood that it was actually, “Surely, good Mrs. Murphy shall follow me all the days of my life”. Being that the child was Irish, it seemed to fit, and Gail loved that. There was something about Gail that one could imagine her as good Mrs. Murphy following us all the days of our lives.
She was kind-hearted, hard-working and dedicated, and someone who was an inspiration to know. She showed that life after politics as a grandmother can be a whole lot better than life in politics.
The leader of the official opposition mentioned that he was at the funeral. How many people have 29 honorary pallbearers, including a former prime minister and former colleagues? She will be missed.
It is appropriate that today we take the time to honour her memory, thank her for her service, and thank her family and Skinners Pond for sharing her with Canada.