44th Parl. 1st Sess.

September 15, 2022 10:00AM

Mr. Andy Fillmore (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Lib.)

Sep/15/22 4:38:45 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, it is with tremendous sadness and profound respect that I rise today to pay tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II who passed away one week ago following 70 remarkable years as Queen of Canada. Like so many of us, until last week I too had only known one sovereign. As I prepared my remarks for today I reflected on her constant presence in my life, so I would like to begin with some personal reminiscences before moving on. Unbeknownst to either the Queen or me, we first crossed paths at Expo 67, I as a one-year-old child in my mother's arms and she as a 41-year-old monarch on her fifth visit to Canada, her fourth visit as our Queen. We crossed paths again on the occasion of Her Majesty's Silver Jubilee in 1977. As an 11-year-old, I was living in Edinburgh with my parents and sisters that year. My grade 5 class at Sciennes Primary School made elaborate commemorative costumes out of paper and we stood in a group at the side of her parade route along Edinburgh's Royal Mile as she passed. She returned our excited waves with great warmth and with a happy smile. Her presence was next felt in 2008 at my grandmother's 100th birthday party in Berwick, Nova Scotia. As a loyal British subject having been born in County Durham, let us try to imagine my grandmother's delight at her celebration to find at the bottom of her stack of cards a personalized birthday letter from the Queen whom she loved so very much. In 2010, Her Majesty launched what was to be her final visit to Canada in Halifax, my riding. Accompanied by Prince Philip, she observed the Royal Canadian Navy's centenary by reviewing in her role as commander-in-chief of the Canadian Armed Forces a flotilla of international naval ships in Halifax harbour. It is a day that I and all Haligonians shall never forget. Our final intersection came at Christmas 2015, my first as an MP. As a rookie on Parliament Hill, I was pleasantly surprised by how many people whom I had never met were sending me Christmas cards. Figuring this was perhaps expected of me too, I followed suit and sent Christmas cards to many prominent individuals, including one to the Queen. Much to my delight, by the time we returned to Ottawa after the Christmas recess, there tucked into a pile of mail was a letter stamped with the Queen's royal cypher. The message inside was warm, personalized and printed on Buckingham Palace letterhead and brought a thrill to me and my entire staff. At any of those earlier points of intersection over so many years, if someone had suggested to me that one day I would swear allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II as a member of Canada's Parliament, I would not have believed it, but three times now I have sworn that I would be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. To Her late Majesty, I hope and I believe that I have discharged my oath to the very best of my abilities. Why have I shared these personal stories? I have shared them because countless Canadians have stories just like these. They are small moments that connect us to a monarch whom we may never have actually met but who earned our admiration and our affection through her steady, dutiful service. Indeed, many Nova Scotians' memories will include seeing Her Majesty on one of her five royal tours to our province, including four to Halifax out of her 22 visits to Canada, the country that she visited more than any other. Perhaps they were among the 50,000 people who greeted her at the train station in Halifax during her first trip to Canada in 1951 as a 24-year-old princess. Maybe they were a veteran at Camp Hill hospital where she visited on that same trip. Possibly they had the honour of being inspected by Her Majesty during a visit to the Royal Canadian Navy base in Halifax, or they met her at the Bengal Lancers horse riding school during her first trip as Queen in 1959. Perhaps they were residents of Halifax's Northwood seniors home where the Queen visited in 1979, or at the Fortress of Louisbourg in 1994. Maybe it was that final visit to Canada that I referenced earlier where, on a rainy day on Citadel Hill in the heart of downtown Halifax, she memorably said: My mother once said that this country felt like home away from home for the Queen of Canada.... I am pleased to report that it still does. My pride in this country remains undimmed. It is good to be home. As the Queen has been part of our individual lives in big and small ways over the past seven decades, so too has she been present for some of the most defining moments in the life of our nation. Most notably, in 1982, along with the Prime Minister's father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, she participated in the signing of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, bringing the Constitution home to Canada. I believe history will look back on the Queen as a stabilizing force throughout an era of incredible change. The world today looks very different than it did 70 years ago and while we have made significant progress, our work remains unfinished. Canada’s parliamentary democracy, inherited from the motherland, and our constitutional monarchy make Canada’s system of government one of the most stable in the world. I believe that Queen Elizabeth II, in her role as Queen of Canada, has played an important role in securing our confidence in that system and in its success. With that in mind, the Crown now passes to King Charles III, who has pledged to renew his mother’s lifelong service to the Commonwealth. I renew to him the oath of service I took for his mother. As His Majesty begins this new journey, may we all wish him well. Long live the King.

1034 words

Hear!
Rabble!
add
star_border
share

SoVote

House Hansard - 96