LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Mr. Speaker: O Eternal and Almighty God, from Whom all power and wisdom come, we are assembled here before Thee to frame such laws as may tend to the welfare and prosperity of our province. Grant, O merciful God, we pray Thee, that we may desire only that which is in accordance with Thy will, that we may seek it with wisdom and know it with certainty and accomplish it perfectly for the glory and honour of Thy name and for the welfare of all our people. Amen.
Good morning, everyone. Please be seated.
Mr. Speaker: As previously agreed, we'll be considering condolences this morning.
Hon. James Allum (Minister of Education and Advanced Learning): I move, seconded by the member for Fort Whyte (Mr. Pallister), that this House convey to the family of the late Louis Ralph "Bud" Sherman, who served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, its sincerest sympathy in their bereavement and its appreciation of his devotion to duty in a useful life of active community and public service, and that Mr. Speaker be requested to forward a copy of this resolution to the family.
Motion presented.
Mr. Allum: It is a tremendous honour for me to stand here today and to move this motion in regard to, quite clearly, a giant of a man, an incredible parliamentarian, a wonderful family man and a dedicated, committed member of his community, of his province and, quite clearly, of his country.
Now, I have to tell you, Mr. Speaker, and say to the family that I didn't have the honour and the privilege of knowing Mr. Sherman, but I do know that he was an outstanding member of this House and outstanding MLA for Fort Garry for 15 years. And so as the member for fort–what is now called Fort Garry-Riverview, it falls to me just to say a few words in regard to his tremendous work and his tremendous legacy.
Now, I often say in this House that we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, and I think in this case it's not just myself standing on the shoulders of others on my side of the House but, in fact, standing on the shoulders of an individual who played a really quite central role in this province for many, many years. And, as I said to open my remarks, it's an incredible honour and privilege for me to be able to stand up and speak to the legacy of an individual whom I didn't know but nevertheless I see as someone who is a tremendous example for my work and for all members of the House in the work that we do each day, day in and day out on behalf of the people of Manitoba.
Now, I can say that while I didn't know Mr. Sherman personally, I'm also a preacher's kid and, believe it or not, among what are called–I think it's okay to say this now–PKs, there is, in fact, a kind of fraternity among preacher's kids for the very fact that we grow up in a very small little bubble. We are held to an incredibly high standard. I have no doubt that Mr. Sherman held that standard as a preacher's kid much higher than I did myself, Mr. Speaker. But I can say that in that–when I read that about him, I felt an immediate kinship with him because we kind of go through the same thing.
Now, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Sherman moved to Manitoba, I believe, in 1949. He was a graduate of an outstanding high school in Kelvin High School, and then a graduate, of course, of one of our outstanding universities, the University of Manitoba. But it's my understanding that in fact it was during the war Mr. Sherman lost his brother. It played a monumental role in his life, and I think, if I'm not mistaken, played a–had a profound influence on his moving forward into a life of public service, both inside this Chamber, but outside in the larger community.
I will also note that Mr. Sherman was married for 55 years, and I'm entering on my 30-something year of marriage, and so to have achieved 55 years of marriage, I think, can easily be said may well be his greatest accomplishment, and I'm sure that's quite a tribute much to his wife as it is to Mr. Sherman himself, but I'm always awe inspired by those who've been able to maintain a relationship, a happy married relationship, for 55 years, to have three children, to see them grow into adults and to see that family life has been both satisfying and rewarding. I know almost certainly that that would have been perhaps his proudest legacy.
Of course, Mr. Sherman spent a considerable amount of time in journalism before jumping into the political arena. I'm not sure if a life in journalism prepares you for a life in politics necessarily, but there is an affinity between the two professions, and I have no doubt that when he did enter this august Chamber that he, in fact, his years as a journalist served him very well, prepared him for the art of communicating, which is perhaps, Mr. Speaker, the most–the essence of what we do here.
And so I have no doubt at all that his foundation was solid as he entered a life of political service. Of course he was the MP for Winnipeg South for at least one term, and then went on to be an MLA in Fort Garry for 15 years, Mr. Speaker, and I know that you have a tremendously long record of service for yourself, but as for me, who's a mere rookie in this Chamber, to think of–four years has been plenty; to do 15 years or longer I think is an incredible testament to commitment and to dedication, to courage and to having the ability to want to continue to work on behalf of the people of Manitoba every single day.
I understand Mr. Sherman to have been an outstanding minister of Health among his many portfolios, both in opposition and then as a member of the government. I know that he was very responsible for the recreation of the Health Sciences Centre, among many other attributes. I also note that he was pivotal in the founding and funding for the Manitoba Health Research Council, and I can say, as an academic myself, that those who put a premium on research have a high regard from me because I think we need to be evidence-based in everything we do, and, of course, I would regard that as a tremendous legacy of Mr. Sherman as well.
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His political life, I'll leave it to others on the other side to speak to his many and varied accomplishments.
But I note that after he was finished in politics, he went on to spending a lot of time in the CRTC, and I think that's a really incredibly important role in our country. CRTC has provided the regulatory foundation for broadcasting in this country, and when we see the power of the media to shape who and what we are, I have no doubt at all that his role there was important and helped to shape the kind of Canada that we all can be proud of.
And then, Mr. Speaker, and finally, I just want to note that Mr. Sherman didn't stop there. When his political career was over, when his life in the CRTC was over, he simply went on to be a volunteer in his community and continued to give back to his city and his province and his country, and I think it's a lesson for all of us that our work doesn't begin and end at the doors of this great Chamber but, in fact, it goes on every day.
And so it is with great privilege and great honour on behalf of my side of the House to move this motion. I look forward to the tributes that are sure to follow.
And I thank the members of the family for giving me this great honour. I hope we have the opportunity to meet sometime. You have a wonderful, giant, iconic figure in your family, and though I didn't know him, I'm very, very honoured to get up and say a few words today.
Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Brian Pallister (Leader of the Official Opposition): Thank you to the member for Fort Garry-Riverview (Mr. Allum) for his remarks.
How do you do justice to a life that was so well lived, Mr. Speaker? This is a challenge for us today, and I will attempt to put some biographical information on the record, share a couple of perspectives from our family, and I'll leave it to my colleague the member for Tuxedo (Mrs. Stefanson), who has a long and close association with the family, to reflect on some of the more personal aspects of Bud Sherman's life.
His undergraduate career saw him involved in the student newspaper The Manitoban, which we're familiar with, of course, Mr. Speaker, inter-faculty sports, fraternity life, student drama, Canadian Officers Training Corps. He graduated from the Royal Canadian School of Infantry at Camp Borden, Ontario, in 1949 with the rank of Second Lieutenant.
On December 28th, 1955, Bud married Elizabeth Ann "Lizanne" Beaton of Winnipeg, only daughter of Dr. Grant W. Beaton and Ann Jonsson Beaton. They were married for almost 55 years, and ultimately, I know, in hearing the wonderful comments at the celebration of his life earlier this year, this was the proudest accomplishment of Bud's life.
After graduating from university in 1949, Bud went to work for Canadian Press in Winnipeg, embarking on a wire-service and newspaper career that covered the next 11 years and included service in Halifax, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. In the late 1950s, he served as bureau chief and western Canada manager for UPI in Vancouver. In 1960, Bud moved to television journalism and became director of news and public affairs as well as a popular on-air anchorman and host of a public-affairs program with CJAY-TV, the local CTV station in Winnipeg, and he worked there from 1960 to 1965.
In 1965, Bud began a 19-year career in federal and provincial politics when, representing the Progressive Conservative Party, he was elected as a Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South. In 1969, he moved into provincial politics, where he was elected a member of our Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for Fort Garry, a constituency he was very proud to represent for the next 15 years and through four elections. During this period, he served his party as whip, chairman of committees, deputy House leader, communications adviser and Labour critic.
From 1977 to 1981, Bud was the minister of Health for the province of Manitoba, and during his tenure he initiated a multimillion-dollar redevelopment of Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre. He was instrumental in developing a new Rh Institute and national blood fractionation laboratory at the University of Manitoba and in securing permanent status and funding for the Manitoba Health Research Council. He also spearheaded major legislation regarding the governance and operation of the regulated health professions in our province.
In Cabinet, Bud also served at various times as deputy premier, minister of Community Services and Corrections and the minister for Amateur Sport.
From 1981 to 1984, he was the deputy leader of his party and he was the chief Health critic in the Legislature.
Bud was appointed as a commissioner of the CRTC–at that time, I guess, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission based in Hull, Quebec. In 1985, his proudest accomplishment on the CRTC was the central role he played in work relating to long-distance competition in the telephone industry. In 1987 and '88, he chaired a federal-provincial-territorial task force on telecommunications.
After 1995, Bud focused his energies on volunteer activities in the military, sports, education and cultural fields. These included membership on the advisory board and chair of the board of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada, director of the Manitoba and northwest Ontario committee of the Canadian Forces Liaison Council, member of the board of the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews, member of the board of directors of the Canadian Youth Foundation, volunteer for the XIII Pan Am Games in Winnipeg in 1999, member and later president of the board of directors of the Manitoba Opera, partner in the Ital-Inter Soccer Club, partner–a part of the Manitoba Major Soccer League, of which he later became a member of the board of directors, and member of the advisory council of the University of Manitoba's Institute for the Humanities.
This was a life well lived, Mr. Speaker, a person who gave in so many different ways to so many different people, chiefly remembered by his family as a tremendous family man: survived by Cathy, her husband, Gordo; Christopher, his partner, David; and Todd and his partner, Eric; also survived by his sister, Joan Weir.
Frankly, Mr. Speaker, there aren't many colleagues remaining with us, sadly, from those days, but I had the chance to speak to J. Frank Johnston, who served with Bud and get his perspectives first-hand on some of the qualities that Bud personified while he served in this place, and Frank shared with us that Mr. Sherman had a tremendous sense of humour. He said, and as we all know, in this place, sometimes that's very important. But he said that Bud always got people in his caucus, his colleagues, feeling better about what they were doing, especially on days when everybody was in the dumps on how things were going, Bud would say every day won't be a good day in politics. And that reminder and that sense of balance, was reflected in the way he lived his life.
J. Frank Johnston also said that Bud was the hardest working minister. He said he was the first one in the building and the last to leave. I know some of the colleagues of that day from rural Manitoba would say, well, Bud was closer to his work, but the reality is he was dedicated to his work and he showed that in the way that he applied himself.
And he also was always available if people wanted advice, and he counselled and helped many of his colleagues in their careers, an important benefit that I had the privilege of receiving from my colleagues when I first came here, and I know many other members would attest to how important that giving of advice by people who've been here for a period of time is to their advancing and their abilities to serve their constituents.
On a personal note, Mr. Speaker, I can tell you that Bud Sherman was greatly admired and respected in our home. My mother was a graduate of Kelvin High School. She put herself through by working her–working out for other families and so on, and came from Roblin, Manitoba, to Winnipeg to continue her education that she couldn't do at that time there. But she admired Mr. Sherman very much. They, I understand, were in school at the same time; certainly, my mother liked to claim credit for that, and I believe it was the case, and so she had tremendous admiration.
My mother, however, being a dedicated and strong member of her teachers association for many years and a teacher of great neutrality, would never claim support for someone on the basis of their political party's affiliations, but rather admire people for their personal qualities and their dedication. Those qualities were always demonstrated by Mr. Sherman and certainly Mom felt a great admiration for him.
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My dad also spoke very highly of Mr. Sherman, I expect through conversations he would have with his friends who were involved in the Conservative Party at that time who may have served with him. We had a great friend and neighbour and 4-H leader whose name was Lloyd Hyde who served here as a legislator. Others from Portage la Prairie and area, John Christianson and Sterling Lyon, of course, who all would have shared positive comments about Mr. Sherman with my dad.
My personal association with Mr. Sherman, sadly, Mr. Speaker, is one of just watching him, watching him in the media, early days, with our weekly paper came to our house, to our farm. And then when we got a television in the early 1960s, watching him do the news. That was the first way that I became really acquainted with the face and voice–beautiful, both of them, in my estimation–of Mr. Sherman. He was in our home when we had two channels. He was the newscaster for CJAY-TV. Well, I shouldn't say two because we had CBC French as well, so actually three channels.
He was always dignified and professional in his delivery of the news. And then as he carried those skills forward into the communications challenge, as my colleague from Fort Garry-Riverview referred to, he carried those skills forward into his means of addressing the people. And so you felt a sense of competence, integrity and confidence in this man, reflected in the results he achieved for the people of Manitoba, for the people of his riding as well.
His conduct in this career was important, but, of course, what's most important was his balanced conduct in life: the fact that he was supportive of his family, that he maintained strong and growing relationships with his community and that he gave back to all he associated himself with.
I offer my–these few memories, which cannot do justice, Mr. Speaker, to the career and the life and the life accomplishments of Bud Sherman, in sympathy to his family but in celebration of the life that they had the opportunity to share with Bud Sherman.
Thank you very much.
Hon. Steve Ashton (Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation): Mr. Speaker, I had the honour of serving this Legislature when Bud Sherman was a member of the Legislature. We were perhaps in a somewhat different element of our political careers. I was newly elected. He had been a bit of an iconic figure, re-elected, of course, in the '81 election, and iconic in a way because, you know, having been involved in federal politics, having been involved in provincial politics, as the Leader of the Opposition pointed out, being a regular commentator in the media.
And what struck me, actually, was, you know, it was an interesting time in politics, but what was one of the key elements I found with Bud Sherman is how friendly and engaging he was. You know, I was a rookie. I was elected by 72 votes. I think I was dubbed Landslide. It was fair amount of back and forth. I see Jim Downey's here. He'll remember some of the back and forth. And I'm sure I gave as much in the forth as I got in the back. But it was–what was interesting was the way he really did have a very engaging personality, and not just myself, but my wife as well, I know when he passed away earlier this year, she commented on that. Because we, whether it was at a social gathering, or, you know, the occasional times afterwards we would run each–into each other, I remember actually seeing him, during his time with the CRTC, I think it was, because he served on that body for quite some time.
And you know, it was interesting, because if I remember how that translated into the Legislature, we actually at one time had, we had 240 hours of Estimates. I think one year we actually had unlimited Estimates. Somebody came up with the brilliant idea that we should actually cap the amount of question period and have unlimited Estimates.
An Honourable Member: Hear, hear.
Mr. Ashton: So, oh, I see the Opposition House Leader is–he may want to sort of picture this: I still have vivid memories of Bud Sherman questioning Larry Desjardins. Of course, Bud, who probably knew as much about the Health Department as Larry did as minister, and it went on for hours and hours and hours. And, you know, Estimates in those days, it was a little bit more political than it is now, even opposition members would on occasion ask questions in Estimates, but not with Larry and Bud. It was really–it was like the Larry and Bud show, they went on. And it was that civility and respect that they both had for each other in the process that really sticks in my mind.
Now, I think it was the next year that we did cap it to 240 and then eventually we got it down to 100 hours, and Estimates is a fine part of our process. But I don't think anything would have matched Bud Sherman questioning Larry Desjardins on health in that period of time.
And I did want to really say on behalf of any of us that sat with him, he was a fine parliamentarian, and I say that by the way in the sense that I think he would have used that term. I–it's a term that's often thrown around rather freely. I don't think it's something that you are automatically, you know, it's something you earn, and he certainly did whether it was his involvement in federal politics, and he certainly knew the slings and arrows of misfortune. I believe he–his last political campaign was when Lloyd Axworthy was elected, if I recall correctly, in '84. But whether he was involved in federal or provincial politics, he was a fine Manitoba and he was a fine human being.
And if I could on behalf of my wife and myself pass on to his family just how much we enjoyed knowing him, and certainly I enjoyed the brief time that we both served together in this Legislature.
Mrs. Heather Stefanson (Tuxedo): Louis Ralph Sherman was known to my parents as Lou and was known to my siblings and myself as–simply as Uncle Bud, and to many other families, including the Banfield family and other families that over the years shared many great times with the Sherman family, and in particular Bud and Lizanne. And I want to thank Cathy and Gordo for being here today with us in the gallery. And I also want to extend my condolences to Christopher and his husband, David, and to Todd and his husband, Eric, as well, who couldn't be here with us today, but, please, we extend our very best wishes to them as well and our deepest condolences.
Mr. Speaker, Uncle Bud was a very close friend and, Aunty Lizanne, very close friends of my parents for many, many years. They shared many occasions together with different families. And I can recall every Thursday was a gathering of when I think my mom was a little fed up with feeding us five children and she declared that as her own maid's night out and she got other families including the Shermans and the Cannells, and there were often others that came by as well, and she would have them over for cocktails before they would go out for dinner, and I think they often came back after dinner as well. And I can recall back then in the late '70s, early '80s, the many discussions that they had about politics and other issues of history, and military history and so on, that some of the values that they shared and many heated arguments at times I think as well. But it was always an evening, at the end of the evening, where there were hugs and kisses and farewells that–and the discussions that took place that were with tremendous respect of one another. So I remember those times well.
I can recall as well on Christmas Eve every year, we had a tradition in our family where we would go on a sleigh ride with a number of families, many of those families whom referred to Bud as Uncle Bud. And after the sleigh ride we would go home and get dressed for church, for later for Mass. And we had a couple of visits, though, before Mass and we used to–it was Uncle Bud's birthday on Christmas Eve and so we would go by and have a visit and some Christmas treats. I can recall when I was little I always looked forward to those Christmas treats going by and visiting Uncle Bud and Aunty Lizanne and Cathy and Christopher and Todd, and it was just such a tremendous tradition for us to have an opportunity to spend Uncle Bud's, you know, birthday with him as very close friends of the family. And it was also my dad's sister's birthday as well, so we used to carry on and visit with her in the hospital at the time, Mr. Speaker. But I remember those times very, very vividly, and they're something that is very, very dear to me and certainly to my siblings. We will cherish those times a very, very long time.
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Mr. Speaker, I know when I was first deciding whether or not I was going to enter politics–running for politics back in 2000, and one of the calls I made was to Uncle Bud and we went out for coffee and we discussed. I said, what are the pros and cons of running for politics? And I said, you know, Uncle Bud, do you think this is something I should do, should I get into this? And he used to call me Hev and he said, Hev, this is your time; I think this is something you've got to do and I'm behind you a hundred per cent, and so when do we get started?
And he was really excited about it, and I just thought, well, I'm not sure yet. What are the cons? He said, don't worry about those, don't worry about those, you'll see those when the time comes. But there's so many pros to it. This is your time. Go for it.
And I'll never forget that conversation. It was a really nice conversation that we shared.
And subsequent to that, he came out and helped out on every single campaign of mine and for our party. And I really cherish those times when he would just walk into the office. He never called ahead to let anyone know he was coming. He would just come, and he would say, what can I do, what can I do to help? Do you need to send out a mailer? I'll help with that. I'll go canvassing. I'll pound in signs. Whatever it takes, I'm here to help out.
And inevitably he would help out with whatever we needed at the time and–but in particular he used to come in and he would go through the voters list and he would pick out every single person he would know and send a personal letter to those people in support of me in the election. And I can tell you that took days upon days upon days for him to go through that voters list.
He knew a lot of people in his tenure in politics over the many years that he was in politics, at both the federal level and–I know my colleague, our Leader of the Opposition, has gone through some of the past history, and the member for Fort Garry-Riverview (Mr. Allum) has also covered off some of those things, and the history of Uncle Bud in politics and also in his times with the CRTC and his love of sports and poetry and history and, of course, the opera, where he sat on the board. I know it was–that was very dear to him as well. Many of those have been covered off but I do know that he is just such a–was such a dear friend to my parents. In fact, he gave the eulogy at my mother's funeral and it was–he had such an eloquent way with words and such a tremendous sense of humour that he had all of us laughing, even at my mother's funeral, which is tough to do. But he is just a–he will be missed by all of us in–I know in the McDonald and Stefanson families.
And I just want to share one last story about Uncle Bud, and there was an opportunity that I saw him. He moved into the Shaftesbury retirement residence just before he passed away. Just before he passed away, I stopped in there and he was collecting his mail and he–I said, hi, Uncle Bud. He goes, Hev, how are you? It's so good to see you. And he said, what's going on down at the Legislature, what's happening? He was completely on top of every single issue that was going on in Manitoba. You've got to say this, you've got to do this, you know. And he had all sorts of advice about what to do. And it was such a great way to see him, and that was the last time I saw him before he passed away.
So–and I can recall him walking off and–with his mail that he had, and he said, see you, Hev.
And that was the last time I saw him. And, you know what, what a tremendous way to see him. He was absolutely with it to the very end, and just such a tremendous person.
And so in closing, Mr. Speaker, I just want to say to Cathy and Gordo, who are here with us today, thank you for being here; to Todd and Eric and Christopher and David, our deepest condolences to you on this tremendous loss, not only for your family but for our city, our province and our country. Thank you.
Mr. Dave Gaudreau (St. Norbert): Mr. Speaker, I find it a great privilege today to stand here and speak here about such a great man that we've heard some stories from people who knew him personally.
I didn't know him personally. I was affected by his decisions and the things that he did in this Legislature, living in the south area of the city when he was an MP and then when he was an MLA, and the member for Tuxedo (Mrs. Stefanson) shared some really beautiful personal stories, and I think that's the worth of the man, when we hear about all these stories, and also the things he's done here in this Legislature, but he's been–you could tell that he was deeply loved and those are just some beautiful stories.
As a member who represents part of the area that he was the MP for at one time, we hear that, you know, that we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, and I truly think that that's what was true in Manitoba, and especially with being a small community that we are–that we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, and, you know, I look at all of the things that he accomplished in his career, and I think what an amazing career he had here in Manitoba and all of the things he's done.
And I see that he was an avid football lover, and yesterday we had the Vincent Massey Trojans in here who won the ANAVETS Bowl, so I'm sure that Bud would have been very excited about that, representing that area, and it would have been something that he would have loved to have partaken in on the steps here with the team, so it's just–it speaks to how he's come from–all across from–before I was born, the decisions he's made as an MP, and then when he came in as a, you know, an MLA, increasing the pharmacare deductibles and putting new prescription drugs on the pharmacare benefit plan. All of these things have an impact on us later on in life that we don't realize, and you read the stories about a man, but then you hear the personal stories, which I'm very happy that people have shared, that to know a little bit about who he is.
I'd like to think that I met him in my life when I probably–maybe I did when I worked at the McDonald's on Pembina Highway with the caboose. I'm sure he brought his family there at some time. It was kind of the gathering place in the south end of the city for people with their children, and I probably did meet him and his family at one point there, and I'm sure that, just by the sound of everything that he was a very wonderful family man, and probably took his children to that McDonald's, and I would have met him and served him at some point, and now I find it interesting that I'm serving in the area that he had served so well in his life.
You know, I lost my mother in 2010, and people say, you know, once you have someone in your life like that, that you'll never lose them because you'll always remember them, and it sounds like that's the kind of man Mr. Sherman was, that the member for Tuxedo (Mrs. Stefanson) surely has fond memories and I'm sure the family has those fond memories of him, and they will never forget him and they will never lose him. He'll always be part of their life. He'll always be there for them in memory and the stuff that he did in his career was one thing, but it sounds like his personal life, he really cared for the ones that he loved and had deep friendships working on elections for people that were his friends.
And, you know, volunteering well into his seventies, I mean, not only did he serve Manitoba in this role, but then after he stopped this role, he continued on to serve Manitobans, which speaks volumes of the man, and I think that it's a wonderful tribute to him that we can do this here today.
I think this is a very nice thing that we do in our Legislature, that we get to talk about people who came before us and set the ground for us and helped us build the Manitoba that we now have, and I think that, you know, he's one of those people that was fundamental in setting the ground for us, and, you know, we remember all the good things that he's done and we continue to build on those good things.
And, you know, there's a saying that, you know, you don't measure a man by the way he died, but how he lived, and not what did he gain, but what did he give, and if we're looking at those measures of Bud as a man, he was truly a great man. We hear it from the member for Tuxedo; we've heard it from the Leader of the Opposition, and his wonderful words about what Bud accomplished in his lifetime.
So I want to just extend my deepest condolences to the family and all of his family and friends because it's a great loss when somebody who's been around and done so much for so many, it's always a heavy, hard time, but it sounds like his memory will live on for a very long time in all of your hearts, I'm sure, and the member for Tuxedo and the Leader of the Opposition.
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So, with those few words, I'd just like to say thank you to Bud and his family because he couldn't have done it without–we all, you know, come into here, and it's all about our families and friends who help us get to these–to this point, and they help us stay stable in this Legislature. And there's a lot of supports that come with that, and without you and all of the family that he had, he wouldn't have been able to accomplish as much as he did.
So with that, I want to extend my condolences and thank you for sharing him with us and allowing him to do all the great things he did. Thank you.
Mr. Kelvin Goertzen (Steinbach): I just want to say a few words about Bud Sherman. I heard the member for Dauphin (Mr. Struthers) speak last week on a condolence motion about how sometimes in politics, we view our heroes differently than maybe most Canadians do. Often, it's sports heroes, hockey heroes that we refer to. In politics, we often have our own sort of historical heroes about people who have been in this Legislature or in federal politics.
When I had the opportunity to work for Albert Driedger in one of his last times in office here, I chatted with him a little bit about his memories because I wanted to learn a bit about how he felt this place had changed over the 20-some years that he spent here as an MLA. And one of the people that he mentioned was Bud Sherman, among others. I think they overlapped in terms of their time of service by only a few years. But he had very strong memories and good memories of serving with Mr. Sherman when Albert was starting off. And there's a generational thing when it comes to how we serve in this Legislature. We learn from people; we learn from those who have been here longer than we have, and we take some of those experiences and we bring them into our own work in the Legislature. And you can tell that Mr. Sherman's impact still lives on here today.
And I was reminded by the member for Thompson (Mr. Ashton) about the things that he learned from Mr. Sherman. And I think that's a great legacy that we have in this building, and it doesn't matter which political party you represent. We all learn from each other. We all learn about things that work well or don't work well as elected politicians, and it was touching to hear the member for Tuxedo (Mrs. Stefanson) talk about how Bud was one of the key influences in her being in the Legislature, and so, through her, Mr. Sherman lives on here in this Assembly.
Looking at his life, it's interesting that he seemed to be on the leading edge of so many things. And I think if you're going to lead a life on the leading edge, it's probably the most interesting way to do it. He was the minister of Health at a time when I think that the–that particular ministry was just growing in importance and was just really developing into the importance it has today. Of course, today, the Ministry of Health is considered one of the dominant ministries in provincial politics, for sure. At that time, I think, it was just beginning to become of its significance, Mr. Speaker, and so he was at the leading edge of that.
Many years with the CRTC at a time when broadcasting and different regulation was changing here significantly in Canada, and he would have seen that on the inside, all of the changes that were happening within telecommunications and the way that people not only absorb information but also transmit information. And he had the opportunity to be a key part of that at a great and interesting time. Even at his–during his time in the media, that was probably–and no disrespect to my friends in the media now–but it was probably the height of the importance of media in our era. I mean, now people get information in many different ways that are beyond the media and that are not necessarily transmitted by the media. But during Mr. Sherman's time in the media, that's how most people relied on their information. They relied on getting it directly from the media, and he was at the leading edge of that.
His work with the Health Sciences Centre and how it transformed that particular institution was at the leading edge of that, Mr. Speaker. I even heard, on a–not a smaller note, but a more recreational note, that he was involved with soccer in Manitoba and helped to develop that sport, and that's the leading edge. Soccer is now, I think, the most–over the last number of years, the fastest growing sport in Canada.
So, in so many different ways, whether it was in his career in journalism, whether it was in his career here in the Legislature, after that with the CRTC and telecommunications, his work with the Health Sciences Centre or even in recreation with sport and helping to develop that sport in Manitoba, Bud Sherman was on the leading edge of so many things. Many of us would be envious, I think, to be able to have a life like that where you are at the beginning of so many important things and so many changes that were happening within our society.
So, he's left a legacy in so many of those different areas by being at that frontal end of so many changes but, of course, in this Legislature his memory and his time lives on through the members who knew him and the changes that he made.
Thank you for the family for being here today, this morning, for being able to allow us to share memories of Mr. Sherman, and thank you for sharing him with the city, the province and the country. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Hon. Jon Gerrard (River Heights): Mr. Speaker, I rise to say a few words, to recognize Bud Sherman and his contributions to this Chamber and to Manitoba.
Bud had some roots in the River Heights community, attending high school at Kelvin and then went on, of course, to do a bachelor of arts at the University of Manitoba. He was a–became a prominent broadcaster in the province and became widely known for his contributions in that area, and then of course moved into politics, becoming the Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South in 1965. And from there he moved on to provincial politics and played a very significant role as minister of, first of all, Health and Social Development were together, and then minister of Health from 1977 to 1981.
He had an intense interest in health. I'm not entirely sure where it came from but it was very real, and he showed that in his role as the critic for Health, and then he showed that in his role as the minister of Health. He made a number of important contributions: the redevelopment of the Health Sciences Centre, the regulation of a number of health professions, the starting–the establishment of the Rh Institute, which has gone on to make major contributions to Manitoba and, indeed, globally.
But I want to mention in particular his contribution with respect to the Manitoba Health Research Council. It's an organization not all that well known to many Manitobans, but it's one that's been very and extraordinarily important for the careers, and the development of the careers, of many health professionals in this province. And it's important to draw people to Manitoba. Indeed, for my own career, the presence of the Manitoba Health Research Council and the Children's Hospital Research Foundation were instrumental in the decision that I made to come here to become a–on the staff of the University of Manitoba and very involved in health-care research, looking after children and looking at blood disorders and cancer.
But it was a seminal period in 1980 when the Manitoba Health Research Council was established, and it was Bud Sherman who put it in place and made sure that it had the permanent status and went on to become as significant as it has become over the years in building the capacity that we have in health care in this province. I think it may have an even more important role in the future but, nevertheless, it has been a critical, but not all that well appreciated often council which has played a very important role.
I want to also mention Bud Sherman's role in telecommunications. He was on the CRTC from 1985 to 1995, for a 10-year period, served very ably there, was involved with a task force on telecommunication that I think was in '87 to '88. And that task force and his time on the CRTC were at a critically important time because they were the lead-up to what was to become the world of the Internet and the World Wide Web. And the work that Bud Sherman had done on the CRTC and with the task force were some of those stepping stones that led to work that I was involved with when I was a Member of Parliament in relationship to the Internet and the information highway and trying to make sure that people across Canada had access.
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I'm well aware of his contributions to telecommunications. And, of course, he became then an adviser and consultant for many years afterwards in this area, continuing to make contributions as he helped various players in the telecommunications industry.
Bud was keenly interested in sports, actively engaged and concerned with his family and his community. He had a cabin at Delta Beach, an important area in this province and which was celebrated in a book that came out very recently, written by Gordon Goldsborough, and the Delta Marsh–and a beautiful area, and I'm sure that the family had many happy and relaxing times there.
So I want to recognize these contributions. I want to say to the family, sympathies and condolences on my behalf to you and your family and to friends of Bud Sherman as we recognize him today for his contributions here.
Mr. Speaker: Is there any further comment on this matter?
Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion? [Agreed]
Would the honourable members please rise and remain standing to indicate their support for the motion.
A moment of silence was observed.
Inez Trueman
Hon. Steve Ashton (Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation): I move, seconded by the Minister of Housing, that this House convey to the family of the late Inez Trueman, who served as a member of the Legislature–a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, its sincere sympathy in their bereavement and its appreciation of her devotion to duty in the useful life of active community and public service, and that Mr. Speaker be requested to forward a copy of this resolution to the family.
Motion presented.
Mr. Ashton: It's my honour to speak today and put on the record a number of remarks about a remarkable public servant. What strikes me as someone that did not serve in the Legislature at the time that she was a member of this Legislature but as someone that did follow politics and certainly knew of her, quite a remarkable record of public service, first of all, involved in many community activities: the volunteer bureau, the Winnipeg Junior League, president of Social Planning Council, a city council member, a member of this Legislature for Fort Rouge. And I think there's a bit of a theme today: she also ran federally and was defeated by Lloyd Axworthy, so there's something she had in common, obviously, with Bud Sherman we paid tribute to before.
What does strike me about her remarkable career is what a different era it was in Manitoba in terms of the election of women. I know we're proud in this province of the fact that we were the first province where women won the right to vote, and I say won the right to vote because it was certainly a very storied struggle and it's something we recently celebrated, Mr. Speaker. What did strike me is in the time I've been here I've actually served with about 80 per cent of the women that have served in this Legislature. And I know I've been elected for a number of terms, but it's quite remarkable the degree to which in Inez Trueman's time it was a rarity to have women elected in this Legislature. In fact when I was first elected I must say that one of the key issues as there were more women elected, was the fact that even the facilities in this building did not reflect the fact that there were women who were members of the Legislature.
And, you know, I don't think we tend to recognize enough as we today have a record number of women, and as we see across Canada and certainly federally increasing numbers of women in politics, how much that is really been dependent on the few women who were trailblazers many years ago.
Now, I do want to say that we have a long way to go in Canada. I forget what ranking we have in terms of women in politics, it's not one of the best, but I am pleased to say that certainly Manitoba in recent years, both in terms of Cabinet and in terms of members of the Legislature are showing significant signs of progress, and I suppose I have a bit of a bias and I actually come from a part of the province where the last three members of Parliament have all been women, including the current Member of Parliament, who was recently re-elected, who I obviously know rather well.
And I do think that's what remarkable about Inez Trueman is both her record of public service, but a record of public service at a time when it was–to be a woman in politics was to be the exception rather than the rule. And as we make further progress I believe towards the ultimate goal of gender parity, I think, Mr. Speaker, when you recognized those women those have served and do serve today, and indeed Inez Trueman was one of those that was recognized in the presentation that was given to both current and former women parliamentarians.
I do think it should be noted the degree to which Inez Trueman was not only a significant part of the province, but a trailblazer for women in this province.
Mrs. Heather Stefanson (Tuxedo): It's an honour for me to stand today and offer my condolences to the family of Inez Geneva Trueman, and in particular I want to welcome Robert, Don and Deanna to the gallery, the family who are here with us today, and also offer our condolences to David and Sandra and Martha and Edward as well, Mr. Speaker.
Inez was a remarkable woman with a list of many, many accomplishments that she did for our province here and for our city and for our country, Mr. Speaker.
She was born on April 8th, 1917, in Glenwood, Minnesota. She was the daughter of Gustav and Ida Gandrud and was a graduate nurse. She met Ken Trueman at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and once married the couple moved here to Winnipeg in 1939 where they raised their four children Robert, David, Don and Martha.
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In the 1950s she became deeply involved in the social, cultural well-being of the community. She served as president of the Junior League of Winnipeg, and I know my mom had the opportunity to sit with her as a member of the Junior League as well, an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism in our community and developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers, a very significant focus on volunteerism and promoting volunteerism in our community, Mr. Speaker.
She served as president of the Central Volunteer Bureau, now the Volunteer Centre for Winnipeg from 1954 to 1956, and she served as president of the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg from 1965 to 1967.
In her later years, Inez enjoyed travelling with her good friend Norm Alexander, playing bridge, watching her family grow up, and happy hour with her friends at the Wellington, where I had the opportunity to visit her several times. The Wellington is a retirement residence in my community, and we often had the opportunity to sit and have a coffee there and share stories from the past. She told stories very well, and I just appreciated her company so much.
She was elected city councillor for River Heights in 1968 and served as a Progressive Conservative MLA for Fort Rouge from 1969 to 1973, and I know in my family–I grew up in Fort Rouge, Mr. Speaker, and I was a baby at home at the time when she was–maybe not when she was first running, but in that time. I was born in 1970 and I know that I can recall many stories of my dad talking about helping Inez and going door to door and helping on her campaign. And she subsequently helped my father when he ran in 1977 and 1979 and in Fort Rouge as well, Hugh McDonald, and I just–I recall back then she was just such a remarkable volunteer in our community and just such a tremendous asset to our campaign.
Unfortunately, my father wasn't as successful as Ms. Trueman was, but he really appreciated her hard work and help and dedication to our party and to our community.
Mr. Speaker, Inez had a voracious–she was a voracious advocate for women in politics and encouraged women at all levels and in all parties. She–whether you're running federally, provincially, municipally, and in particular she tried to get women involved in the campaigns, being campaign managers, being campaign volunteer co-ordinators, encouraging women to take on more senior roles within campaigns, and she did that at a time that that wasn't necessarily the norm in Manitoba and–or in the country, and I think she stepped out, and this was something that she believed very, very passionately in.
And I can recall, Mr. Speaker, I know Inez also–I did speak to her before I decided to run, and she encouraged me to run as well, provincially here, many years ago now. But she also helped out on my campaigns over the years, and I appreciated her advice and her wisdom, particularly as a woman in politics. She had some tremendous advice for me, and I always appreciated our conversations.
But one of the most memorable and the most important and dear conversations I had to her was when she popped into my campaign office back in 2011 and she brought something to me that she had worked on many, many years ago back in 1979. And it was, in fact, a–it was initiated by the Department of Education at the time. It was called the poster series, entitled Manitoba Women in Politics, and it was something that was sent out by the Department of Education to all high schools in Manitoba, and it was a poster series of all the history of women involved in politics in our province.
And I know, Mr. Speaker, we're not allowed to use props in the House, but if I can just ask your indulgence for a moment, I would like to just take this opportunity because it's a series of 10 posters, and I was–I had the great opportunity of showing some of the family members who are here today some of the posters, and I won't go through all of them, but here is one. It says–it's got a picture of Inez, who was the president of the Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party at the time; a picture of Muriel Smith, who was the president of the NDP party; and Win Loewen, who was the president of the Manitoba Liberal Party at the time. And it says: Making coffee or making policy?
And that's just one of the posters that really stood out to me, and it really says a lot about what Inez is all about. And I'll offer, if member's opposite want to have a look at the posters after, please feel free to drop by my office and have a look at them.
I'd like to probably showcase them better than–they originally came to me–Inez gave them to me in a tube and so they're still sort of rolled up that way, and we'll have to spend some time and make sure we get them mounted properly the way they should be.
But it is a tremendous history, particularly of women, of course, in Manitoba. And I think she's to be commended for her involvement. In fact, I believe she was the fifth woman–I could be wrong, but the fifth woman ever to be elected in Manitoba, and that is an incredible accomplishment. And I–now, I think we're at 51 women who have been elected to the Manitoba Legislature, and we had a celebration thanks to you, Mr. Speaker, of that earlier this year, and I thank you for that, and I know it's something that Inez would have loved to have been a part of.
But I did just want to read something from the Manitoba women in politics poster series notes, again, from the Department of Education back in 1979. And this is what it said about Inez Trueman. It said: Inez Trueman is a registered nurse. She has served on the executive of several local groups including the Volunteer Bureau of Community Welfare Planning Council. She was a Winnipeg alderman for 1968-1969. In 1968 she was chosen Woman of the Year by the Women's Sales and Advertising Club of Winnipeg.
It says here that she was elected in 1968 to the Legislature but I think it might be a typo. I think she was 1969, but that's okay–where she was Health critic and chairman of the Progressive Conservative caucus as well as serving on several committees.
Her term as MLA ended in 1973. In 1975 she co-chaired the Progressive Conservative policy conference and the leadership convention.
And, again, I would welcome others to come and see a copy of this, and we can make copies available to those who are interested in reading it, because it does have a lot to do with the history of women in politics in Manitoba.
So, Mr. Speaker, with that, I just want to again thank the family for being here. Inez was a staunch advocate for women in politics. I really appreciate–I don't think, without her advocacy, that I would be here today, and I just want to thank you and her for making that possible.
And I just want to say that I know my parents, she–they respected–Hugh and Diane McDonald had a tremendous amount of respect for Inez and really appreciated everything that she did for the community, and thank you so much for being here today. And to those of your family that couldn't be here, please pass on our sincerest condolences on behalf of the McDonald family, on behalf of our caucus, our PC caucus, and on behalf of our community and our province and our country. Thank you.
Ms. Jennifer Howard (Fort Rouge): It's my honour to rise today to speak to the condolence motion for Inez Trueman. I have the pleasure of representing the constituency of Fort Rouge today, and I find these times when we do condolence motions, the tradition of the current representative speaking about past representatives feels like a link that joins all of us through time.
And I want to thank the member for Tuxedo (Mrs. Stefanson) for her words. I remember those posters. I–some forward-looking history teacher or guidance counsellor put them up in the library of my school in Brandon, Manitoba, and I remember those posters and took some inspiration from them to see those women charting a course to be involved in politics.
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When I look at the life of Inez Trueman, one thing that strikes me is how long it was; she lived to be 98 years old. Maybe being the MLA for Fort Rouge is a predictor of long life; one can only hope. And she accomplished a great deal in those years.
We've talked a bit about her history in this place. I believe when she was elected in 1969, she was the only woman elected in that election. It may be hard for us to imagine that, in this Chamber, having only one woman here, but she used that position to advance causes that had been important to her through her life. Her history working with the volunteer–now the Volunteer Centre of Winnipeg and the Social Planning Council gave her an appreciation of the struggles of women who worked outside the home, particularly women who were raising their children on their own. And she became a champion in those days for accessible child care because I think she knew from the work that she had done how important that was for women to be able to get an education, to go to work and to help to raise their family.
When the member for Tuxedo (Mrs. Stefanson) was speaking to the previous condolence motion for Bud Sherman, she talked about sitting down and asking him about the pros and cons, and it remembered me of a, oh, perhaps a joke that is often told about getting women to run. The question is: How do you get more women to run for politics? And the answer is: Lie to them. And that's because, perhaps if we knew the cons of this job before we ran, few of us–men or women–would likely take the plunge, and to be the only woman and only the fifth woman elected, certainly those challenges were even greater for her.
As I say, she was a champion for women–for working women, for child care. She also advocated for things like broader income tax rebates for mothers who had additional expenses for child care, and probably every one of us in this Chamber almost has benefited from being able to claim child-care expenses, either on our income tax or when we run for office. That child care is a legitimate campaign expense, and that has helped to open the doors to women and to men who have small children.
She supported the Canadian Royal Commission on the Status of Women, and I–for many, many years, I have travelled with a copy of the report of that commission. It made its report in 1970; it was a watershed moment in Canadian history. This report laid out such revolutionary ideas as maternity leave and job protection if you got pregnant, and forbidding discrimination on the basis of gender, and providing services for victims of domestic violence. And in those days, those were revolutionary ideas. But today we all benefit from those changes and Inez was a champion of changes like that. And looking back at the report of that commission and the work of women like her helps us to note the progress that has been made.
I think oftentimes in public life and political life, it's hard to measure progress in days. You have to look back and measure them over decades because sometimes that progress is slow, and I think enduring progress is always slow. But looking back, you can see that the progress has been–that has been made but also that there is so much more to do.
We've spoken in this Chamber before about this coming year being the 100th anniversary of some Manitoba winning the vote–not all Manitoba women won the vote a hundred years ago–and it is an important time to reflect on the contributions of our foremothers and their courage. I know from talking to other women who were elected not quite as early as 1969 but in the '80s that they didn't often expect to have influence. They didn't often expect to be listened to in caucus or in Cabinet. They were expected to be grateful just to be here.
But not Inez; she used her position to put forward private members' resolutions, to debate bills, as she was not simply satisfied with just occupying a seat in this Legislature or being a token. She wanted to make real difference and real change for other women and other families. She urged women to be vigilant, and, as the member for Tuxedo (Mrs. Stefanson) said, to take a more active role in politics and in the struggle to protect the hard-won rights and the hard-won equality.
We've talked–I've talked a bit about her advocacy for things like child care. She also advocated for the right of unmarried women–unmarried mothers to keep their children, something that also was perhaps a bit shocking in her day.
When I read about her contributions, I realize that she was a Progressive Conservative in the best meaning of that tradition–in the best meaning of that political tradition in this country.
She also advocated for people with disabilities, advocated that as public transportation systems were designed that their needs were kept in mind. And we still have a tremendous amount to do on that front.
And she advocated for more financial power to be given to women in marriages. We know some of the tremendous changes in family law that came about in this Chamber because of the advocacy of women that allowed for women who were going through divorce to come out of that with a somewhat equal share of the property that was obtained in marriage, and allowed them to leave a marriage and still be able to support themselves and to support their children.
As a private member and member of the opposition, she was a sponsor of a motion to establish the Women's Bureau in the Department of Labour that would support the fact that women were entering the workplace, in those days, in unprecedented numbers. And the Status of Women Department is still around today and is still doing the good work to make sure that women and girls and their needs are considered in every policy decision that a government makes.
So I want to say to her family here, I know that you know that her life made a tremendous difference and every woman that's in this Chamber, and frankly most of the men that are in this Chamber owe a great deal to her for her courage, for leading the way and for making it possible, for those of us who are raising families, to have access to good quality child care and to be able to take up our role in the Legislature or the workplace or wherever we choose to be.
So thank you very much for sharing her with us, and I extend on behalf of our caucus, our deepest condolences for your loss. Thank you.
Hon. Jon Gerrard (River Heights): Mr. Speaker, though she was a member for Fort Rouge, she also had ties as it were to River Heights because she was for a period the city councillor for River Heights from 1968 to 1969. I think it's important to recognize Inez's, you know, significant contributions through her personal efforts to advancing the position of women in Manitoba.
I mean, certainly she was a leader being the president of the Central Volunteer Bureau which is now the Volunteer Centre of Winnipeg, that was in 1954 to 1956. She served as president of the Social Planning Council, 1965 to 1967. And of course she was, I think a little after that, the president of the Progressive Conservative Party. I mean she didn't shrink from having major leadership roles in Winnipeg and in Manitoba. And by taking on those roles she provided an example to other women.
It is important that we recognize the contributions to advancing the position of women and the issues which women are more concerned about, not that men are not concerned about them as well, but we are in 2016 going to be 100 years after the vote was received by women.
And it's important to reflect on the fact that for many of those years the progress was fairly slow in terms of advancing the agenda that people like Inez Trueman were talking about and putting forward, and to recognize her contributions in the many changes which have occurred even since the 1950s and 1960s, not only in the number of MLAs who are now women, but also in the presence of things like maternity leaves which are so critical, and the evolution of our society to pay more attention that as we grow as a society, we need to make sure that we have a much better balance in how we approach life and society and the well-being of women and children and men.
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So it is, you know, with those comments, then, paying tribute to Inez Trueman today, I extend condolences and sympathy to the family and friends and the recognition of a life that was well lived and major contributions to Manitoba. Thank you.
Mr. Kelvin Goertzen (Steinbach): Mr. Speaker, I want to put a few words on the record. I want to thank the family of Inez Geneva Trueman, which, I want to say, is, I think, one of the great political names. Inez Geneva Trueman is a great, powerful name, and it speaks to the individual, even though I didn't have the opportunity to meet her.
It's fascinating when you think about how this Legislature has changed over the years. And mention's been made to the event that you had, Mr. Speaker, recognizing the women that have been elected to this Legislature.
And when I saw the photo that you presented of all the women who've been elected to the Legislature–I saw it in our caucus and I kind of saw it from a distance–that my first assumption was that that was just the Progressive Conservative women who were elected to the Legislature. And, on closer look, I realized that was all of the women that were elected here to this Assembly. In fact, if all of the women who were elected, including Inez, were here right now, there would still be some empty seats. They wouldn't fill the entire Chamber.
And then you go back to 1969, and it's hard for any of us to imagine, except maybe for the member for Thompson (Mr. Ashton)–I'm kidding about that–what this Chamber was like in 1969, Mr. Speaker. And it was entirely different.
And we sometimes hear about the accomplishments that our women colleagues have made in this Chamber, and they were significant. As people are moving on, we often hear lists of their accomplishments. We've heard many cited for the member for Seine River (Ms. Oswald) and the accomplishments that she's achieved.
I know she's not moving on, but the member for Fort Rouge (Ms. Howard), we've heard of her accomplishments in this House. I think, in those days, the accomplishment for women wasn't just what they achieved here; it was just to get here. I mean, that was a remarkable accomplishment to be able to be elected to this Assembly.
And when I listen to the tributes that have flowed for the member for Seine River and other of our female colleagues here in the Legislature, Inez can take credit for some of those accomplishments because the ability just to be here at that time was significant. The fact that she was a city councillor, I think called alderman at that time, and also ran for federal politics–I mean, think about that, of somebody from her generation, a woman who was elected as a city councillor or an alderman, was elected as an MLA and ran for the House of Commons. I can't think of another person, another woman of that generation, who did those things. It's absolutely remarkable to think of the leader that she was.
So her accomplishments aren't just marked by what she achieved here in the Legislature. Her accomplishments are seen in all of the colleagues that we have here today. They're seen in the member for Seine River (Ms. Oswald); they're seen in the member for Tuxedo (Mrs. Stefanson); they're seen in the member for Fort Rouge (Ms. Howard), and she can take some of the credit for some of those great accomplishments that are being achieved here today.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker: Is there any further debate on this matter?
Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion? [Agreed]
Would the honourable members please rise and remain standing to indicate their support for the motion.
A moment of silence was observed.
Mr. Ashton: I wonder if there might be leave to call it 12 o'clock.
Mr. Speaker: Is there leave of the House to call it 12 noon? [Agreed]
The hour being 12 noon, this House is recessed and stands recessed until 1:30 p.m. this afternoon.