43rd PARLIAMENT, 2nd SESSION House of Commons Debates Official Report (Hansard) Volume 150 No. 002 Thursday, September 24, 2020 Speaker: The Honourable Anthony Rota CONTENTS (Table of Contents appears at back of this issue.) 25 HOUSE OF COMMONS Thursday, September 24, 2020 The House met at 10 a.m. Throughout his career, first as a lawyer and later as a politician, he was always the epitome of elegance and humility. John treated every person with dignity and respect. No matter how busy he was, he never forgot anyone's birthday. Prayer As a member of Parliament, John had the privilege of serving three different provinces. Thanks to his mastery of the law and the ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS democratic process, he was able to overhaul the Criminal Code. His work for the Department of Justice paved the way for legal aid in ● (1005) Canada, ensuring that every person could defend their rights, re‐ [English] gardless of their economic or cultural background. These changes transformed the lives of millions of Canadians. GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO PETITIONS Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Presi‐ It was obvious to anyone who spoke with John how much he dent of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and to the Lead‐ loved Canada. John always talked about his country with immense er of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.): Mr. hope and optimism. For him, Canada was a place where people Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8)(a), I have the honour to helped and respected one another, a place where equality was a way table, in both official languages, the government's response to 67 of life. petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format. [English] * * * COVID-19 ECONOMIC RECOVERY ACT It was just last year that John was on the Hill to celebrate his 90th birthday with people from across the political spectrum, and I Hon. Carla Qualtrough (Minister of Employment, Workforce remember that he was still passionate about strengthening our Development and Disability Inclusion, Lib.) moved for leave to democratic institutions. He used to say that “Democracy doesn't introduce Bill C-2, An Act relating to economic recovery in re‐ happen by accident.” He was right. sponse to COVID-19. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed) John knew that keeping our democracy strong and free meant we needed to put in the hard work to keep it that way. He believed in * * * the incredible power of young people to get involved in our demo‐ HON. JOHN TURNER cratic process and encouraged them to do that wherever he could. Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.): Mr. Speak‐ John knew that Canadians, regardless of age or background, formed er, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today in the House to pay trib‐ the heart of our country and that our future depended on all of us ute to the late Right Hon. John Turner, Canada's 17th prime minis‐ working together for everyone. ter. Today, as we mourn his loss and reflect on his legacy, let us all I knew John my whole life, and he believed fiercely in the values remember our ability to give back to our own communities. that make us who we are as Canadians, values like treating every‐ one with dignity and respect and always being willing to stand up To John's wife, Geills, and their children Elizabeth, Michael, for what is just and right. Today we remember him as a House of David and Andrew, to his grandchildren, his sister Brenda Norris Commons man, a strong advocate for equality and a champion of and brother-in-law David Kilgour, your husband, loving father and our democracy. brother was a great Canadian. We are all so lucky you shared him [Translation] with us. We live in an extraordinary country, thanks in part to people like I invite my fellow Canadians to join us in signing the virtual John Turner. John learned to love democracy very early in life. book of condolences, and together, let us continue to work to de‐ From his earliest years, his mother taught him the importance of fend and strengthen our democracy. As John once said, let us not public service. take this country for granted. 26 COMMONS DEBATES September 24, 2020 Tributes ● (1010) pecially an opposition colleague, but it is another thing to save that [Translation] individual's life. What an amazing and wonderful story. Hon. Candice Bergen (Portage—Lisgar, CPC): Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the official opposition and the Conservative Party of They say that the greatest compliments are those that come from Canada, I have the honour to pay tribute to former prime minister our staunchest adversaries, and in spite of being one of his fiercest the Right Hon. John Turner. adversaries, former Progressive Conservative prime minister Brian [English] Mulroney had this to say about Mr. Turner: Some people leave their mark on this place in a way that outlasts The fact that he was a gentleman set him apart.... He was leader of the opposi‐ them by decades. To walk the halls and see their portraits is to be tion...and while we had many battles...there was no malice in the man. He was a reminded daily that we stand where they stood. man of principle, so he brought a great sense of dignity both to himself and to the various jobs he held. The tributes that have poured out for Mr. John Turner in the last week could easily lead one to believe that the very existence of the He always conducted himself with dignity and with elegance, so I think he's go‐ modern Liberal Party is his greatest legacy. So many veterans of the ing to be remembered, of course, as a prime minister, but also as a parliamentarian, Martin and Chrétien campaigns of the 1990s and early 2000s took who contributed a great deal to Canada in the course of a highly successful life. to television, to social media, and to local radio and newspapers As I say, he brought to politics a very, very good mind and a vision for Canada. this week to pay tribute to the man they give credit for getting them He brought all those values, including integrity and dignity, to his job. He symbol‐ involved in politics. ized, I thought, much of what was best about Canada. Their stories had one common theme. They spoke to a plain truth that John Turner never forgot and that so many who held the same What wonderful words from former prime minister Brian Mul‐ lofty offices as his have never known. John Turner cared about in‐ roney about the Right. Hon. John Turner. dividual Canadians, and not just those he encountered in the halls of power, where he spent more than 20 years as attorney general, ● (1015) finance minister, prime minister and leader of the opposition. Sto‐ ries this week have been set in airplanes, taverns, church basements In closing, history has taught us that we always knew where John and coffee shops, stories of a man who took the extra time to know Turner stood. It did not matter if it was the prime minister he Canadians' stories and remember their names. served, the Canadian people he faced or the party that he dedicated We have a tendency in moments like this to turn men into monu‐ his life to. He did the hard job for every prime minister he served, ments, and with a prime minister who was an Olympic athlete and a and from what I have heard, when he disagreed with them they Rhodes Scholar, that would be very easy to do. However, to Cana‐ knew it. In fact, John Turner was the last finance minister to have dians who shared their stories this week of a man who remembered resigned from cabinet on principle. Mr. Turner had all the qualities their names years after first meeting them, of a politician who in‐ one would want in a Canadian statesman, even when people dis‐ spired them to get off the couch, of an adversary without a shred of agreed with him, and sometimes especially when people disagreed malice in his heart, the John Turner who comes through is one who with him. always had more interest in being a person than he ever had in be‐ ing a portrait. Our public life is richer because of the contributions the Right I will relate a story. It is very interesting, and when I first heard it Hon. John Turner made. May he rest in peace. I questioned whether it was actually true. When I tell the story, I think those who have not heard it will share in my awe. [Translation] As the story goes, the young Liberal MP John Turner and his wife were vacationing in Barbados. While on the beach one morn‐ Mrs. Claude DeBellefeuille (Salaberry—Suroît, BQ): Mr. ing, Mr. Turner's wife noticed a man out for a swim who appeared Speaker, John Napier Turner was born in England in 1929. He emi‐ to be in trouble. The surf was rough that day. There was a strong grated to Canada with his mother in 1932 after his father died. undertow and the elderly man was not a strong swimmer. Mr. Turn‐ er's wife anxiously alerted her husband to the situation. Without A true athlete, he qualified for the 1948 Olympics in London but hesitation, the young MP, who was a competitive swimmer in his was unable to compete because of a knee injury.