Hon. Don Mazankowski (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance):

Madam Speaker, today it is my pleasure to rise to pay tribute to one of our most distinguished colleagues, one of the most distinguished members of the House, our friend and colleague, the hon. member for Vancouver South, the Speaker of the Chamber, the Hon. John Fraser.

Most of us know him simply as Mr. Speaker for that is the role that he has played with great humour and skill over the last seven years. Like many of us, I have also been privileged to know him as a colleague, a friend and as a member of the party of which I am a member.

On behalf of the party and on behalf of the Government of Canada I am therefore happy and proud to salute the remarkable contribution that he has made to the institution of Parliament and in advancing Canadian democracy.

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The Hon. John Fraser has been a member of the House for almost 21 years and sat for almost 11 years as a member of the opposition. As an opposition member he was a principled individual who pursued the important issues that concerned him most and those which were of concern to the people and the region he represented.

Most notable among these issues was the environment which I suppose stems from the fact that he really is a great outdoorsman. He is an avid hunter and fisherman, an ardent skier. One of his daughters is a world champion.

It is important to note that in his campaign of 1972, long before the environment was a popular issue, it was one of the principal elements of his personal electoral platform.

As Minister of the Environment in the government of the right hon. member for Yellowhead he was the first Canadian minister to begin acid rain treaty negotiations with the United States. It was this vision and groundwork which helped our government to conclude an historic acid rain agreement with the United States some years later, an accord which helps to safeguard our national heritage for future generations. The establishment of a national park on South Moresby Island and the Greening the Hill program are just two more examples of the kind of leadership the hon. member for Vancouver South has shown.

I have every reason to believe that even in his retirement from this place he will continue to speak out publicly in favour of sustainable development, environmental protection and its enhancement.

As the first elected Speaker of the House of Commons, the hon. member from Vancouver felt that it was critical to move immediately to gain the trust and support of his fellow parliamentarians. That he did, and he did it with great flourish, commanding the overwhelming respect of all members of the House in landmark decisions that were seen as fair to all sides.

John Fraser reveres the institution of Parliament and has a profound understanding of the role that it plays in the maintenance of our democratic society and the enrichment of our democratic principles. He more than anyone else in the Chamber has helped to maintain the reputation of the House of Commons as a place for

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vigorous but dignified discussions of the nation's business. He was always concerned about the dignity and the decorum of the House.

It is also fair to say, and I am sure that this would be supported by all members of the House, that he was fair-minded and always went the extra distance to give every member the benefit of the doubt, sometimes to the exasperation of members on the government side. However his combined abilities, with his wit, his humour and his keen sense of timing, were very important in the discharge of his difficult task as Speaker of the House.

This is the legacy the Speaker of the House of Commons has left to this institution and all Canadians. As parliamentarians and as Canadians we owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude.

Hear, hear.

Mr. Mazankowski:

I know all members of the House will want to join with me to pay tribute to John's scrupulous impartiality, the soundness of his judgment and his sense of humour which was often biting but never unfair.

John has been consistently sensitive and sympathetic to the cause of linguistic and cultural equality, as reflected in the proceedings of this House.

I will always remember John Fraser as a passionate Canadian, a man who believes in a united, generous and tolerant Canada, who has a zest for life, is a great defender of this institution, enjoys the vigour of debate, and is a man filled with emotion and compassion. These are the principles he believes in and they are the reasons for his unwavering dedication to public life and our way of democracy.

As a Canadian, a fellow parliamentarian and a friend I would simply like to say thanks to the hon. member for Vancouver South. I would like to thank him for setting such a high standard for those who will follow him and thank him for demonstrating to all of us the meaning of the words honour and commitment.

The hon. member for Vancouver South is a true Canadian patriot. This place is richer, better and more effective as a result of his presence and his years of service. Though we all regret that John could not be with us today, we will all join in wishing with him and his

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family that he will soon be able to continue putting his remarkable talents at the service of his fellow citizens.

We wish him and his family, his wife Cate and his three daughters, on behalf of all of the members of the government side all the very best in their future endeavours. I join with my other colleagues in the House of Commons in sending John Fraser our sincere best wishes and congratulations and sincere thanks for a job well done.

Hear, hear.

Hon. Andre Ouellet (Papineau-Saint-Michel):

Madam Speaker, speaking on behalf of the Official Opposition, it is a great pleasure for me to join the Deputy Prime Minister in paying tribute to our Speaker, Mr. John Fraser.

You will recall that just before the House adjourned for the Easter recess, the hon. member for Vancouver South announced he would not run in the next election. This announcement marked the end of a political career of more than 20 years, during which our hon. friend took part in the proceedings of six Parliaments.

Although this announcement did not necessarily come as a surprise, I must admit that I was sorry to hear it because throughout his career he was a truly exceptional parliamentarian as reflected in the level of his commitment to the Canadian people, his courtesy to all members of this House and especially to me when I was a minister and he was in the opposition. He would take part in the business of parliamentary committees, not with opposition and obstruction uppermost in his mind but with a very open, positive attitude to try and improve bills and make a contribution to the work of Parliament. We are losing a great parliamentarian.

This is a reflection upon both his stout highland ancestry and his resolute Christian upbringing. The character instilled in him early marked him with a vigorous sense of justice and fairness which, fuelled by a not altogether unapparent streak of Scottish stubbornness, add up to the quality that we call the courage of one's convictions.

His commitment to public service first manifested itself in overseas duty with the Canadian army in Germany in the less secure world of the post-war era. On his return to Canada he entered upon a distinguished career in the practice of law which led to his emergence as a true leader of the multicultural community on the lower mainland of British Columbia.

His first attempt to be elected to the House of Commons was a natural outgrowth of his status in the community, but it came in 1968, a year that while propitious for Canada as a whole was not particularly kind to his political party.

I want to briefly remind the House that this is probably one of the last occasions for the Deputy Prime Minister to speak in the House. He is probably the most prestigious member of what we call the class of '68. While I am here to pay tribute to our Speaker I cannot resist the temptation to also salute a great parliamentarian who has had a very distinguished career. We will certainly miss him a lot and I want to wish him well in the future.

Hear, hear.

Mr. Ouellet:

I was saying that our friend, the member for Vancouver South, was unable to make it in 1968. However a few others entered Parliament in 1968 who represent the class of '68, a very prestigious class. Some of them will not run again. I particularly want to single out the member for Algoma, the member for York Centre, the member for Edmonton North and the member for Regina-Lumsden. Like the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance they will not be running in the next election, have made substantial contributions to the Canadian Parliament. They have served their constituents well and have been very respectful of this place. I want to pay tribute to all of them on this occasion.

Hear, hear.

Mr. Ouellet:

Fortunately our good friend was able to run four years later and his political fortunes were better then. The great Liberal member of Parliament of the day, Arthur Laing, had been elevated to the other place which probably made things easier for Mr. Fraser.

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However to his credit I want to say that he was successfully re-elected in every election in a riding that was considered to be very volatile. It is a tribute to him that his constituents were faithful and loyal in all five successive elections.

I want to stress his outstanding contribution to national unity, as reflected in his interventions in Parliament. It clearly demonstrates his tolerance and broad understanding of the cultural and linguistic groups in our country. He always exerted a very healthy influence on strengthening and maintaining Canadian unity. He was also one of the first parliamentarians, as the Deputy Prime Minister mentioned earlier, to take a stand on environmental issues at a time when very few people were discussing these questions. He was, without a doubt, a brilliant proponent of protecting and promoting our natural heritage.

While his political party did not avail itself of the opportunity he gave it to make him its leader, he did serve in two administrations, first as Minister of Environment and later as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

It was in this latter position that he came into what must have been the most difficult period of his public service, in any case certainly the most controversial. However even those who were critical of his role understood that what led him into difficulty was in no way related to any wrongdoing or incompetence. On the contrary, it was entirely his desire to protect the most vulnerable of his department's clientele, the low paid and often unemployed workers in the industry.

His political opponents, as I said earlier, never interpreted his resignation from cabinet as an admission of guilt. On the contrary, they saw it as an expression of his deep-seated views on parliamentary democracy, a gesture that unfortunately is becoming increasingly rare nowadays. If he had decided to end his political career at that time, we would have remembered him as a man who, despite the duties of his position, had the courage to remain faithful to his principles.

It was for that very reason, principle before office, that his political career did not end there. Before many

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months his colleagues in the House of Commons were in search of such a person to be their Speaker. After some hesitation, he was persuaded to allow his name to stand. From a field of candidates that included a number of other talented and respected parliamentarians he was chosen by his peers, the first time since new rules were approved by Parliament to elect our Speaker, to preside over their deliberations and be the principal advocate of their democratic rights.

The seven years he spent as Speaker of the House of Commons were not among the most tranquil years of his life. Although he did not have to maintain order in a Parliament consisting of unruly minorities, he nevertheless presided over this House during periods that I would describe as particularly intense, with some very difficult debates, including free trade and the constitutional issue.

In fact, the intensity of those debates and the increasing deterioration of the economic fabric of this country have exacerbated national tensions and made for a very charged atmosphere in a House that has never been known as a haven of peace and quiet.

During these years, his patience and impartiality served the House of Commons well.

Like many of his predecessors he has from time to time been called upon to defend the rights and freedoms essential to the maintenance of democratic government. On occasion he has persevered against faceless bureaucracy and the tyranny of his majority. It is no easy task to describe in simple terms the central role of the Speaker of the House of Commons in preserving the delicate balance of a democratic system. History alone can provide judgment on how successful any Speaker has been.

When all this is history, and I say this without presuming to dictate the views of historians, I believe John Fraser will be referred to as one of the five best Speakers in the history of the Parliament of Canada.

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Although it is unfortunate that illness prevents our Speaker from being here this afternoon-I hope he will be able to watch this debate on television-we are all happy to hear he is convalescing at his mountain cabin, away from the telephone. We hope he will get well soon. We also hope that with his competence and wisdom, he will make a brilliant start on the next stage of his distinguished career.

We do not know what he has planned or even if he has planned anything next, but most of us have no doubt he will find some way to continue to serve his community. We are all certain he has not yet reached that happy age when a man can be idle with impunity.

We wish to thank him for his stellar service and wish him, his wife, his daughters and his entire family nothing but the best in the future. It was John Bunyan who wrote that a democracy was primarily an attitude of mind, a spiritual testament in which politics was the greatest and most honourable adventure. John Fraser's substance and style over more than 20 years have helped make these words ring true today.

Mr. Nelson A. Riis (Kamloops):

Madam Speaker, it is indeed an honour to rise today on behalf of my colleagues in the New Democratic caucus to pay tribute to one of the most outstanding parliamentarians and speakers this country has witnessed. A distinguished colleague and friend to all of us, the hon. John Fraser loved this place.

Sharing a west coast constituency with John Fraser resulted in one of the highlights of my political career and that was spending many hours seated beside John Fraser as one of the two national airlines transported us across the country. One thing one would notice was how people responded to John Fraser. He was a friend to all. It did not matter where we stopped en route or who was on board; there was always a steady stream of individuals passing by his seat to greet him, enter into conversations with him and just indicate the respect they held for him as a constituent person, the Speaker of the House and a parliamentarian per se.

We acknowledge his contribution over 20-some years to his constituents. The fact that he was returned year after year demonstrated how people felt about the way John Fraser served his constituents. One of the most interesting aspects of the time I have known John Fraser was travelling in Vancouver with him and seeing people

from all parts of the city greet and thank him for various services he had provided for them, their families or friends. He was really an outstanding constituent person.

He loved this place. If there is one person who personifies being a parliamentarian it is John Fraser. I often thought that John Fraser looked the way a parliamentarian was supposed to look. Every day he entered the House as Speaker with grace, dignity and commitment. He enjoyed the debating back and forth in the House of Commons. He always said this was not an easy place for people with thin skins or weak hearts. It was a tough place in which to debate, and of course he experienced that on both sides of the House.

What made him special in his position as Speaker were his wit and humour, ability to deflate tense situations and reluctance to ask anyone to leave the Chamber. He would ignore people for long periods of time and not recognize their interest in seeking the floor. In that way over the years he elevated the conduct of members and the way work was done in the House.

I also note how much he has assisted individuals in a personal way. He has an incredible intelligence system that is able to identify when individuals are having difficulty in a committee or having difficulty not getting recognized in Question Period. In many cases he could identify difficulty on a personal level. We could always count on John Fraser sending us notes at the right time or inviting us back to his chambers for a chat, a coffee and cookie or whatever as he discussed our issues of concern.

I also pay tribute to the team that worked with him, not only those who assisted him in his duties as Speaker but his wife, Cate, and his three daughters. On many occasions as the duties of the Speaker required hosting groups and delegations, inviting people over for discussions and so on, his wife, Cate, was always with him. His appreciation of her support and that of his three daughters was really something to behold. He never missed an opportunity to comment on his family. That says a great deal about John Fraser as a person.

We will remember John Fraser as well in the House for the early work he did when he was Minister of the Environment and some of the early initiatives he took in combating acid rain. We remember his behind the scenes work on South Moresby Park. As Speaker he was not able to work up front but we all appreciated the

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tremendous effort he made to ensure the park became a reality.

We remember all the work he has done in terms of greening Parliament Hill. All sorts of changes on Parliament Hill reflect his sensitivity toward environmental issues and his appreciation of the outdoors. He certainly is an avid outdoorsman. I remember many occasions when we tried to reach the Speaker we could always find him in rather different places. He would be in some small mountain cabin or some encampment up in the mountains of western Canada pursuing his favourite hobby of fishing.

I know that one of his major disappointments was not being in Kamloops for the grand opening of the world fly-fishing championships. He looked forward to playing a part in that for at least a year, but because of his illness he was unable to be there to welcome his fellow fly-fishers from around the world to Canada and Kamloops to participate in the championships.

I will close because I know there are others who want to pay tribute to John Fraser. I simply want to say that Canada is a better place because of John Fraser. The House is a better place because of John Fraser. He personified all that is great in a parliamentarian. Being the first elected Speaker, he very quickly rose to that occasion and very quickly developed the respect and support of all members of the House.

I want to simply say we wish him well. We wish his wife, Cate, and his three daughters well in the years ahead. We are all friends of John Fraser. We will see much of him in public service. As others have indicated, there was no one who possessed more of a sense of service to the public than John Fraser which he demonstrated throughout his entire life.

I wish him well on behalf of our caucus. May he have many years of excellent fishing ahead.

Hon. Thomas Siddon (Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development):

Madam Speaker, on this important day of adjournment I would like to add a few words in honour of our colleague and friend, the Speaker of the House who cannot be with us today.

John Fraser has represented the riding adjacent to mine for 20 years. He has been a true friend to every

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member of the House but in particular to those of us in the British Columbia caucus. We came to know him closely and have missed him these past few years as he has presided over the whole House. We have been able to continue to share his friendship. In his quiet and helpful way he was always there for us. I know he has been there for all members of the House.

I remember first learning of John Fraser many years ago when I was organizing a conference on the environment at the University of British Columbia. I learned of this rather strange paradox: a Conservative who cared about the environment. I learned about this great man who was the environmental critic for the Conservative Party at that time but who had also led a great crusade against the proposed damming of the Skagit River between southern British Columbia and Washington state.

John's first love was preserving the waters and the natural resources, the fish and wildlife, and enjoying the outdoors as a true sportsman. It is his compassion and dedication to those environmental values which above all else has made the Speaker a great Canadian and one who has made a great contribution to our children and our way of life.

The Speaker, it may not be recalled, was a candidate for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party in 1976. I am sure he was glued to his television set last weekend as the great national convention unfolded. I am sure but for his larger duties he wished he could have been there on the convention floor in the heat and excitement of that occasion.

Our Speaker as a British Columbian, a Canadian and a great historian would have been proud from his soul to his mind and throughout his being to see a leader selected as the first woman leader and Prime Minister of Canada from British Columbia.

We all enjoyed those warm and cordial times in Mr. Speaker's office. Other members have other recollections. I remember attending a Christmas dinner with Speaker Fraser in his quarters where he invited his larger family. It was a very unusual experience but one that showed his desire to reach out and bring many friends together with his family.

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I remember as a young member of Parliament not being on the aeroplane that the member for Kamloops spoke of, but having the Speaker who was a minister of the Crown at the time carry home my infant daughter and escort my wife to our home in Ottawa because there was no one else there for her but Mr. Fraser. I remember him campaigning for me in my first election and fighting off the hordes that were supporting the Liberal Party. There were not that many left in western Canada but he came to campaign in my riding and ended up suffering from a dog bite because of the way in which he pursued his diligent work on my behalf.

I wanted to say a few words of gratitude because Mr. Speaker cannot be here with us today. We know he has had recent difficulties. To Cate and the family, the daughters, and to John especially, we are very grateful for his fellowship. We wish him good health. This House is poorer today for his absence, but we know that in his heart and soul Mr. Speaker is indeed here with us today and for that we thank him.

Mr. Pat Nowlan (Annapolis Valley-Hants):

Madam Speaker, I will be brief. Although I have known John Fraser longer than any other member of the House I almost felt listening to the testimonials that Speaker Fraser could very well have been completely rehabilitated and perhaps grace the chair before the tributes stopped. My tribute will be very short. I have a letter that I wrote to him. I really do appreciate the fact that the Deputy Prime Minister, on this adjournment for the summer recess with the obvious potential for election coming, did raise the tribute to John Fraser.

Just before I read my short letter I want to make a comment to the Deputy Prime Minister who has been an old colleague and a friend of mine. We have unfortunately grown apart in these past couple of years, perhaps with his heavy duties trying to keep the ship of state on course and I in my position trying to sometimes put some reefs in the path of the ship of state.

The interesting thing from the Deputy Prime Minister has been alluded to by the member from Papineau- Saint Michel. I was in the class of 1965 but then there is the class of 1968. The member for Algoma is the one

who brought this home in a tribute to him not too long ago in the Commonwealth Room at his 25-year recognition. The public wonders about how members stay around here. I am an exception to a point. I bet this will be news to you, Madam Speaker, that of 96 who came in here in 1968, in view of defeats and announced resignations, there are only 2 who have indicated that they will reoffer. They are the members for Yorkton-Melville and Davenport. In that period 94 of 96 have bitten the dust one way or the other. There are only 2 to come back. In terms of the class of 1968 I think they have added a lot. Certainly the Deputy Prime Minister has added very much.

It is John Fraser whom I say I have known longer than anybody else here. I practised law with him in British Columbia before either of us ever became members of Parliament. I remember him on the Brockton Oval playing English rugby while I had come in from the east to tell the westerners how to play English rugby because that is all we played back there.

I am obviously not going to repeat everything about friendship and I am not going to talk about carrying his daughter home or who carried whom home in some of our relationships. However the fact of the matter is that this is the letter I wrote to Speaker Fraser and I want to read it. It is short. It covers the essence of an awful lot that has been said here today:

Dear John,

The curtain is about to ring down on this Parliament-and none too soon-and sadly your stewardship comes to a close. Hopefully, you may grace the Chair in a 'brief' summer-September session (if politically correct!) of the new Government, so that Members could pay public tribute to your historic term as our first elected Speaker. But seriously, your health is more important than any public accolades-especially from some 'honourable members' who may have caused some Speaker stress and strain!

So "prenez la garde" and follow the Standing Orders of the Medical Journal and your doctor-for the Hansard record already shows that you graced the Chair with dignity, diligence and the special delights of subtle Scottish humour. Your calm in the jungle of partisan procedural harangue defined new dimensions of common sense and diplomacy-the tender ego of parliamentary warriors was rarely bruised, just directed down the Byzantine byways of Beauchesne to the pastures of parliamentary peace!

Thanks for a job welldone-and all the best to you and Cate.

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I am glad to have this opportunity to pay tribute to a friend, a great parliamentarian and our first elected Speaker. It was an honour to serve under him.

Mr. Bill Blaikie (Winnipeg TVanscona):

Madam Speaker, I hope that Mr. Speaker, wherever he is, perhaps at home recovering from his recent difficulties, is watching today. I hope, Madam Speaker, you will forgive me if sometimes I say Mr. Speaker because I will actually be referring to Mr. Speaker whom I hope is watching and not to the Chair.

Madam Deputy Speaker:

Allow me to interrupt the hon. member for a minute. It may answer his question. I was told a little while ago that our Speaker was told about today's tributes to him. I think you will recognize this because I could not have made this up. In answer he said: "I am very intrigued but also quite terrified. I do not have any control over this".

Mr. Blaikie:

Madam Speaker, as people rose and as we saw more than one tribute being paid today to the outgoing Prime Minister and now to the Speaker and the class of 1968 and who knows who will be next, I was reminded of a story that Tommy Douglas used to tell after he was given particularly glowing introductions. He used to tell the story of the widow who was sitting at her husband's funeral with her young daughter. In the middle of the eulogy she instructed her young daughter to run up to the front and have a look in the casket to see if it actually was her father lying there.

I was reminded of that story because it often seems that we do say an awful lot of good things about each other after spending many years saying an awful lot of bad things about each other in this place.

I think the career of Mr. Speaker is a good example of that because we all remember the great trouble that he fell into. It has not been mentioned today, but I will mention it because it points to something good about this place. As a result of the famous tuna scandal he had to resign his ministry at that time. I think it was an expression of the sense of the whole House that sometimes politics is very unfair to individuals who are caught in circumstances that are not entirely of their own making.

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It was the sense of the whole House that this sometimes happened. When that happened to the member for Vancouver South and we had the opportunity as the House to rehabilitate him, so to speak, by electing him our Speaker in what was an unexpected election at that time in 1986, we did so. He became the first elected Speaker of the House. It took 11 hours of balloting. I think he exercised that new role well.

I have sometimes felt, and I have said this to him personally, that he had more authority than he sometimes chose to use because he was the first elected Speaker of the House. However, I know that in his own mind he always felt he was operating within what he saw as the appropriate limits of the authority which the House had given him.

I think it is appropriate that we pay tribute to him today. We are all sorry that he cannot be here but:

The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men Gang aft agtey.

Robert Bums also said:

O wad some power the giftie gie us, To see oursels' as ithers see us!

On occasions like this Mr. Speaker and others have had a chance to see themselves as others have seen them over the years and I think that is only appropriate at the end of a long and distinguished political career.

Hon. Walter McLean (Waterloo):

Madam Speaker, I want to join with the Deputy Prime Minister and others who have paid tribute to Speaker John Fraser. It may be appropriate for a McLean and a Fraser to have a moment of anecdotal history.

I belong with John Fraser to the failed class of 1968. This was not often used in North America but John came and helped me write my first political speech in the riding of Victoria. Whether it was the one he used in Vancouver shortly thereafter, he at least won the nomination. I did not win the nomination. However he introduced me to public life. Coming back from years of living in Africa, he encouraged me to come and bring some international concerns into the political forum and into the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.

I think back to his international interests and his concerns. Much has been made of his environmental

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concerns and we know of his leadership there. I remember him coming to the House in the early 1980s at the time of the nuclear threat. I found that one of his environmental interests was tightly knit to his concerns for nuclear war and nuclear weaponry. We collaborated in trying to keep that issue alive with many of the NGOs.

I think the member from Fort Garry has touched on his love of verse. In my family home in Victoria over the hearth are the words: "Lang mai yur lum reck". I think we are echoing to John: "Long may your chimney smoke".

We heard him at his best at the prayer breakfast as he talked about wisdom and living and many of us wish we had half a measure of that wisdom. We wish him health and to be speedily returned to be among us.

Mr. Jean-Robert Gauthier (Ottawa-Vanier):

Madam Speaker,I would like to say a few words, and I will be very brief. If there is anyone in this House who knew John Fraser in times that were occasionally very difficult, it was certainly the member for Ottawa-Vanier. You will recall that I was the Liberal Party Whip for a caucus that consisted of 40 members when there were 211 or 212 government members. It was not easy to consider the rights and privileges of members when faced with situations that were sometimes difficult, both for the Speaker and for members.

During my seven years as party Whip, I had to deal with the Speaker of the House, Mr. Fraser. We were friends before, but we became good friends during those few years between October 1, 1986 and today. I want to tell hon. members that the reason I appreciated Mr. Fraser may have been because I have Scots blood. My mother was a Leslie and my Gauthier side seemed to appeal to the Scot in Fraser.

He had a sense of humour and a sense of duty. He also was quick to recognize a situation where one might need his help and advice. I want to thank him most sincerely for all the help he has given the members of this House, especially opposition members, because he was there to protect us, and I say this also to you, Madam Speaker, and to all those who were part of his staff. I want to say thank you very much on behalf of the members for whom I was for some time the embodiment of party discipline. Whips being what they are, they sometimes have a difficult job to do. However, I simply want to say to John

Fraser: John, thank you very much! John Fraser is a good man.

Mr. Jim Fulton (Skeena):

Madam Speaker, I know that my friend will be able to speak in a moment. I am pleased to be able to rise from the dentist's chair where a few moments ago I had a tooth jerked out. I would not have missed the opportunity to say something even it is just through the Chamber and a television camera to John and Cate.

The Speaker is not only a very good friend of all of us in here; he is a very good friend of all Canadians of any political persuasion.

I recall in particular two instances that I would like to remind the House of that demonstrated the vision the Speaker demonstrated from the chair which drew hundreds of thousands if not millions of Canadians back into a feeling that this place has a heart and can in fact act in the best interests of everyone at once.

On a day almost six years ago a motion came to the floor of this House about Gwaii Haanas which is known to many of us as South Moresby. Although it was a private member's motion in my name, my friend from Winnipeg Birds Hill being almost as crafty as the Speaker himself figured a way of rewording it so that it could in fact be adopted by the House unanimously.

It was put by the Speaker and it was adopted, as I am sure many members on the government side recall. It was a miracle that it was passed. As Miles Richardson, president of the Haida Nation said, perhaps for a brief moment that day the spirit of the aboriginal peoples of this continent hovered over the Chamber as the miracle of that motion passed to protect the area of Haida Gwaii in perpetuity.

It was also a bit of a miracle in that the motion that passed was unconstitutional. No private member can present a motion that ultimately would cost the government over $100 million, but it did on that day and great fruit has been borne of it.

Another motion passed more recently that I am sure John in particular remembers well was the one that flowed from the Brundtland commission. It was put in the House in good faith last year by myself and was subsequently amended by the present Minister of the Environment who narrowly missed becoming prime

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minister three days ago. Along with the co-operation of the member for LaSalle-Emard, the three parties came together and with the assistance of the Speaker put a motion to set aside 12 per cent of Canada in co-operation with the provinces and territories in perpetuity. That in good faith is now under way.

Without the inspiring involvement of the Speaker, such a momentous activity could not have been accomplished. In fact the first legislature on the planet to pass a 12 per cent resolution was this Parliament with the help of the Speaker.

There is one thing the Chamber might want to do, and I leave this in your hands and all of our hands. A wonderful photograph of Winston Churchill hangs in the Speaker's office that many of us have looked at many times as we have sat talking about privilege or about this or that, particularly environmental matters. It has occurred to me on occasion that a piece of the Speaker is very much like Winston Churchill. We should honour the Speaker by making sure that particular photograph is transmitted on behalf of all of us to him, perhaps to hang at Whistler where I think he sits today.

Just as the Speaker felt a very special emotion when he saw the movie A River Runs Through It, I close my remarks by reminding John and Cate as they watch that there is a river of friendship that runs through this place to him. We thank God and we thank the great spirit that his health is good and will be for a long time. We wish him and Cate and their family good health from all of us in this place.

Mr. Stan Darling (Parry Sound-Muskoka):

Madam Speaker, everything has pretty well been said, but I felt I wanted to rise to pay tribute to our Speaker.

The Hon. John Fraser and I are of the class of 1972. When we were first elected I believe there were about 55 PCs, which was a great influx in those days. Of the class of '721 see a couple here. Only 11 are left, and of that 11 only three have said they are not retiring. In my particular case, I probably will be leaving this Chamber after 21 wonderful years.

I can think back on many of the great things that our colleague, John Fraser, did. I was involved from 1981 on in representations against acid rain and Speaker Fraser of course, as has been stated time and again, was and is

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one of the great environmentalists. We went cap in hand to Washington on occasion, not too successfully.

Be that as it may, an acid rain treaty was finally signed in March 1991, and I know the Speaker had a great deal to do with that. I certainly wish him all the best in his retirement.

We were in his chambers a few weeks ago. He had a reception there and he said: "You know, Stan, I am 61 now and you were 61 when you were first elected to the House of Commons which is rather a coincidence".

He was one of the great Speakers, with all due deference to you, Madam Speaker. I wish John, Cate and the family all the best in the future. This House of Commons, or as it is sometimes know, the Common House, will certainly be the loser when he is no longer here.

Mr. David Barrett (Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca):

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to say a few words to a fellow Scot.