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Debates of the Senate 1st SESSION . 42nd PARLIAMENT . VOLUME 150 . NUMBER 102 OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Tuesday, March 7, 2017 The Honourable GEORGE J. FUREY Speaker CONTENTS (Daily index of proceedings appears at back of this issue). Debates Services: D'Arcy McPherson, National Press Building, Room 906, Tel. 613-995-5756 Publications Centre: Kim Laughren, National Press Building, Room 926, Tel. 613-947-0609 Published by the Senate Available on the Internet: http://www.parl.gc.ca 2472 THE SENATE Tuesday, March 7, 2017 The Senate met at 2 p.m., the Speaker in the chair. These women are supported by an organization named the Ontario Women in Law Enforcement, or more commonly known as OWLE. It was created by a small number of like-minded Prayers. women to encourage, promote and advance women in law enforcement. SENATORS' STATEMENTS OWLE is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this week. That's 20 years of joining female members from across the province, 20 years of bringing strength to their voice and 20 years THE HONOURABLE JACQUES DEMERS advocating for positive social change. OWLE encourages women from each and every police service to join to collectively address common interests and concerns, and, indeed, to celebrate Hon. Larry W. Smith: Honourable senators, I rise today to their successes. share with you my recent visit with our colleague Senator Jacques Demers, affectionately called ``Coach.'' He was appointed to the OWLE gives its members the opportunity to connect and Senate in August of 2009 by former Prime Minister Stephen network, to grow their careers and encourage movement up the Harper and quickly became the éminence grise of the Senate ranks of policing. The organization has helped develop sister Conservative Caucus. He is the two-time NHL Jack Adams coach organizations in other parts of Canada and has made a significant of the year trophy winner. contribution to the development of the International Association of Women Police. [Translation] Honourable senators, I would ask you to join me in It was such a pleasure to visit him. Our conversation was filled congratulating the Ontario Women in Law Enforcement for with laughter and brought me back to the good times spent with their accomplishments. As they celebrate their twentieth him both here in the Senate and on the Whitlock golf course in anniversary, we thank them for supporting the advancement of Hudson. Let me assure you that he has not lost his sense of women in the law enforcement community. I also take this humour. Since his stroke, he has been extremely diligent about opportunity to thank them for their continued service to our following his physiotherapy in order to overcome this physical country. challenge, which is far from easy. Progress is slow, but I don't know anyone who is as strong or as determined as Coach. He will get there because he will never give up the fight. VISITORS IN THE GALLERY [English] The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of the Consul General of Iceland in Winnipeg, the largest Icelandic community in In the meantime, he does miss not being here with his Canada, Þórður Bjarni Guðjónsson, responsible for all Western colleagues. He mentioned it numerous times during our Canada, accompanied by his wife, Jórunn Kristinsdóttir. They are discussion. His eyes showed great love and passion for the the guests of the Honourable Senator Bovey. Senate. I have reassured him that our thoughts and prayers are with him and that we also extend our good wishes for his On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the continued recovery. Senate of Canada. Hon. Senators: Hear, hear! ONTARIO WOMEN IN LAW ENFORCEMENT THE LATE BERNARD (BEN) TIERNEY CONGRATULATIONS ON TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY Hon. Jim Munson: Honourable senators, in the news business, you really get to know a person when you share the journey Hon. Gwen Boniface: Honourable senators, in light of together. In my case, the road trips were many, and getting to International Women's Day tomorrow, I would like to take the know this person helped shape my life as a reporter. opportunity to salute the many accomplishments and the important work done by female police officers across this His name, Ben Tierney, or as the headline in his obituary stated: country; more specifically, those courageous women who work ``Legendary Canadian journalist Ben Tierney Dies in Victoria at day in and day out in my home province of Ontario. age 81.'' There are roughly 14,000 female police officers who help That was just a few weeks ago, and my, oh my, how I miss him. protect our nation, and approximately 5,000 of those are in But the spirit of Ben Tierney will never die. A Scot by birth, it Ontario. Their numbers continue to grow. seems Ben was always on the road. As his former Southam News March 8, 2017 SENATE DEBATES 2473 colleague Peter Calamai called him, a ``correspondent's White House, but along comes Donald Trump. Even though he correspondent.'' was very ill, Ben said, ``My book has been Trumped! This is crazier than I made it!'' Ben was born in Ayr, Scotland. At age 17, the restless teenager was on the road. It was the late 1950s and Ben was anxious for a Along the road, Ben Tierney was a husband, a father and a new adventure, an adventure that would take him around the grandfather. He may have loved the road, but he also loved what world. First a short stay in the United States, but he soon found his family brought to his life. His journey wouldn't have been himself in Canada. complete without them. Ben loved to write, and it didn't take long to land a copy boy Ben, I will close with this Scottish proverb: ``A good tale never job at the Calgary Herald. The rest is history. tires in the telling.'' At Southam News, Ben seemed to be posted everywhere: Paris, Ben Tierny, you never tired in the telling of a good story. Washington, Hong Kong, Ottawa and Vancouver, with many more stops in between. TOM MYKETYN One of those was in Beijing. He and I covered the massacre in Hon. Michael L. MacDonald: Honourable senators, on Tiananmen Square. It was during that time of covering history February 26 past, a large gathering was held in Dartmouth, and witnessing the deaths of Chinese students that we bonded. Nova Scotia, honouring Mr. Tom Myketyn. Tom was there with his wife, Jennifer, and their three children, Katelyn, Kevin and Exhausted at the end of days which never really ended, we, Brett, who are all young adults in their mid-20s. Tom has been along with other correspondents, would reflect on the stories we coaching minor hockey for over 30 years, often more than one covered. A beer, or maybe two, never tasted better. We lived to team at a time. He is one of the most accomplished coaches of his tell a story for another day. generation, winning championships at every level, and has always exhibited the type of qualities we wish to have impressed upon our children. It's funny when you are in the moment; you never look at the story as history but as another news event on a lifelong road trip. There were many trips, but Ben's pursuit of the story was A cool head behind the bench, patient with the players and something to behold. Gordon Fisher, who was Ben's boss at officials and, to his credit, the parents, Tom has played a Southam News, said this about Ben Tierney, ``I learned so much significant role in mentoring thousands of young people during from him (about) the values of curiosity, the relentless pursuit of their formative years. Tom's oldest son and mine are the same truth . .'' age, attending school together through to high school graduation and remain fast friends. Our homes are only a few streets apart, and our kids spent lots of time at each other's home when they Honourable senators, I'm trying to capture the essence of a man were growing up. I loved, my family loved, and his many friends loved. What was it about him that was so special? Sure, he was sometimes a cranky Scot with pockets of humour, but from my personal view, he was I remember first meeting Tom because I asked him if he was any fearless, fair-minded and fair. He cared about the story and the relation to Johnny Myketyn. During the post-war era, when individual or individuals in the story. senior hockey and the Allan Cup were hotly contested in Canada, Johnny Myketyn was one of the great defencemen of his day. Johnny played for the Sydney Millionaires and later the Glace On assignment in Delhi in India, he wrote about the awful Bay Miners, was renowned for his open-ice bodychecks, and was conditions faced by working children. They were known as ``the my father's favourite hockey player. Tom smiled and said, carpet boys.'' In 1991, he captured the miserable conditions in ``That's my Uncle Johnny.'' Tom and I have been friends since which they lived and worked: that day many years ago. They worked in ill-lit and airless mud huts, breathing At that gathering with Tom and his family on February 26, carpet lint, in temperatures ranging from near freezing in Lauchlan, my older son, was called out and recognized. Tom winter to more than 40 C in summer . They were beaten coached Lauchlan for a record nine straight years from the age of and given one bowl of rice and salt a day.