Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to join other hon. members of this House to pay tribute to our head of state for over seven decades, Queen Elizabeth II. It is indeed a great privilege to share my personal sentiments, which I can assure members are shared by many residents of Willowdale who are deeply saddened by the passing of our monarch.
Over the last several days, we have witnessed an extraordinary outpouring of grief by numerous individuals around the world. We have heard countless expressions of sorrow on the passing of an exceptional personality who found a very special place in very many hearts.
For each of us, our individual or personal reasons may vary. In other words, she endeared herself to legions for a wide variety of qualities and reasons. However, we all recognize that we are now mourning the passing of a tireless monarch who embodied the notion of duty and epitomized the very best of public service. She had a profound effect on many. She was a constant in so many countless lives over the span of many tumultuous decades.
During her seven-decade reign, she was a historic beacon of hope. She weathered countless global crises with steady determination, great dignity and boundless decency. Despite the whirlwind of developments the world experienced during her lifetime, she proved unflappable and always remained committed to remaining a tower of strength and an embodiment of determination during these uncertain times.
The public first caught an early glimpse of her steadfast qualities even before she ascended the throne, when, at age 14, she felt compelled to offer a radio address from Windsor Castle in 1940. It was addressed specifically to children to reassure youth of the promise of impending peace during the dark days of the Second World War. As she remarked during that address, “And when peace comes, remember it will be for us, the children of today, to make the world of tomorrow a better and happier place.”
It should also come as no surprise that a few years later, while still a teenager, at her own insistence, she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service to train as a truck driver and mechanic to assist the war effort.
That very same sense of duty and service were constants after she assumed the throne. Her sense of obligation and fortitude never dulled. It is now estimated that the Queen presided over an average of 500 official appointments in any given year of her lengthy reign. It is also true that she is recognized as the most widely travelled head of state in history.
As Canadians, we were great beneficiaries of her attention and affections. She travelled to Canada on no less than 22 official visits as a monarch. Indeed, Canada was the country most frequently visited by Her Majesty. As she noted on one occasion about our country, “I am sure that nowhere under the sun could one find a land more full of hope”.
It should come as no surprise that she was among us here in Canada in 1957 when Her Majesty became the first Canadian monarch to open Parliament and deliver a speech from the throne. She opened the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959. She attended the 100th anniversary of the meeting of the Fathers of Confederation in Charlottetown in 1964. She was present for our centennial in Ottawa in 1967.
She participated in Expo 67 in Montreal, and was present for the opening of the summer Olympic games in Montreal in 1976. She was present to mark the 100th anniversary of the admission into Confederation of Manitoba, the Northwest Territories, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island variously between 1970 and 1973.
In 1982, she was present in Ottawa to participate in the patriation ceremony of our new Constitution, which of course included the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
It should also be highlighted that she appointed our first French Canadian Governor General in 1959, proclaimed our national flag in 1965 and established the Order of Canada in 1967.
During her lengthy reign, she conferred countless honours upon and sent congratulatory letters and messages to thousands of Canadians, and acted as a royal patron of countless Canadian charities, while also developing and maintaining a particularly strong bond with our military and the RCMP.
Of course, her greatest impact was on individual Canadians. This she did through her unforgettable Christmas addresses.
She noted this in a visit to Halifax in 2010:
Canadians have, by their own endeavours, built a country and society which is widely-admired across the world. I am fortunate to have been a witness to many of the developments and accomplishments of modern Canada.
I would also be remiss if I did not remark on her dedication to maintaining strong bonds with the widest array of countries, in effect allowing our country to broaden and deepen our ties with numerous countries as a member of the Commonwealth. Indeed, our membership in the Commonwealth alongside other multilateral institutions has allowed us to maintain with great pride for many decades that we are the most connected country in the world. During the Queen's reign, the Commonwealth grew from seven to 56 member states, in essence ensuring the Commonwealth was comprised of countries with an estimated 2.5 billion people. These bonds have allowed Canada to forge close ties and bonds of friendship with numerous countries.
The Commonwealth's objectives were first explicitly and expressly outlined in 1971, when the organization committed itself to world peace, the promotion of representative democracy and individual liberty. While we can all acknowledge the vicissitudes in the fortunes of the Commonwealth, there can be no doubt that Her Majesty reimagined the Commonwealth and was devoted to ensuring that the organization was devoted to improving conditions among all its member states.
The greatest example of this occurred in 1986, when 48 of the then 49 members of the Commonwealth agreed to adopt sanctions against the apartheid regime in South Africa. The then government of Prime Minister Thatcher was the only holdout. We now know, with the benefit of declassified diplomatic archives, not only that Canada assumed a leading role to cajole the United Kingdom to change its official position, but that the Queen also joined this endeavour, of course only from behind the scenes and with great dignity and decorum.
Allow me to offer my condolences to the royal family and, in particular, His Majesty King Charles.
I join millions around the world in saluting Queen Elizabeth for her tireless decades of duty and service.
May you rest in peace, Your Majesty.
