Mr. Speaker, responding to a retirement announcement, thankfully, is not the same as a eulogy although a twinge of nostalgia might be allowed as the hon. member for Prince George—Peace River moves on to enjoy the next chapter of his exceptional life.
My friend and I were both elected back in 1993 and even before then I clearly recall him saying to me “We'll get elected, partner, we'll go to Ottawa and we'll look after each other's backs”. Seventeen years later, we are still best friends and, true enough, we have been looking after one another's backs since the beginning.
As might be expected of best friends, our careers have had some similarities along the way. We both started out life in the resource sector, running heavy equipment and learning to manage a crew of pretty rough characters. It probably prepared us for what we are doing here today.
We have both been whip and House leader for our parties, although my colleague did it better and longer than I ever did. We were both asked to serve in the cabinet. Throughout it all, we came to appreciate that the support of the voters at home was the underpinning of all good things political.
What members will hear and read is that within our party and within Parliament the MP for Prince George—Peace River has had an exceptionally productive career and an exceptionally positive influence. While all of that is true, it is also true that our colleague has always been an impact guy. In early days he earned a reputation as a pugnacious political fighter. Right from the start, our colleague was a local folk hero in his beloved Fort St. John, consistently topping the polls in our province. He was “Jay of the North”, a no-nonsense guy who knew what he knew and was not afraid to tell anyone how things were in the real world outside of the Ottawa bubble.
However, somewhere along the line our colleague made a conscious decision to change tactics. It was not enough to simply challenge the status quo. He decided to make the most of the leadership opportunities offered him, and a leader is what he has become, using his considerable abilities to positively influence not only his political party but the House of Commons as well. It was a big shift for a crusty old roughneck from the oil patch, but he did it. He did it successfully and with panache, and let us face it, in the early days he would not even have known what panache was.
Like all of us, our colleague has a private life and there, too, he has emphasized the things that really matter. Being a good father is important to him and his positive relationships with his three children, Heather, Heath and Holly, now all adults, has been and always will be a priority, as is his relationship to his soulmate and partner, Leah Murray.
He is passionate about relationships and that means those fortunate folks who are closest to our colleague get to see a man who cares about them and is not afraid to show it. Deb and I are proud to call all of them our friends.
Our colleague will soon move on to the next stage of life, secure in the knowledge that his legacy in this place and as a member of Parliament for Prince George—Peace River is safe in history. He was and is principled, direct and results-oriented. He is a straight-shooter everyone wants in their corner when the going gets rough.
The member for Prince George—Peace River should enjoy the next stage of his life and he should know that wherever he goes and whatever he does, I have his back.
