Hon. Tony Dean: Honourable senators, I rise on behalf of Senator Sabi Marwah and myself to say a few words about our friend and colleague Howard Wetston.

Howard is a highly trusted policy-maker, a nationally renowned regulator, a Federal Court judge in his past, a senator, a collector and player of electric guitars, a tennis player, a snazzy dresser, a recipient of the Order of Canada and — I have just had to write in — golfer.

When we arrived in this place six years ago, Sabi and I were in awe of being appointed alongside Howard. That was because if you got anywhere near the complex world of energy policy, energy regulation or securities regulation, and the major debates about a national securities regulator in Canada, you know about the legendary role and massive contributions of Howard Wetston, including his tenure as a jurist.

I certainly knew about Howard; I had heard about him often, but our paths seldom crossed. Therefore, it has been such a privilege to work alongside you, Howard, and to see your vast experience, scholarship, judgment and, let’s face it, dry sense of humour, which we’ve all seen in full flow.

Howard held senior influential and highly impactful roles as the chair of the Ontario Energy Board and the Ontario Securities Commission. Many things stand out. First, as chair of the Ontario Energy Board, we saw Howard’s balanced emphasis on the thoughtful regulation of electricity and natural gas, directly rooted in legal principles and economic rationale. He enjoyed a distinguished and closely watched tenure as chair of the Ontario Securities Commission, and he was a strong advocate of the concept of a national securities regulator and worked hard to make it a reality, which he has noted as a missed opportunity to create “a best-in-class, state-of-the-art, modern 21st century regulator.”

Howard, as we know, sound policy proposals and good ideas never go away completely, so don’t give up.

Howard has also worked hard to improve diversity on corporate boards and has been publicly recognized for this. He has continued that work here in collaboration with Senator Omidvar and other colleagues.

In his inaugural speech, Howard talked humbly about his past achievements, saying that he had worked in two of the three major fields occupied by our work here in the Senate, the first two being public policy and the law — both of which Howard is well informed about — and the third one is politics. Howard, I hope you have enjoyed the third leg of the stool, my friend.

Howard has made huge contributions here as chair of the Senate’s Banking Committee and as a member of several other committees. He brought with him his vast experience at senior levels of institutions and boards. His legacy, as many colleagues have noted, will be his major study on competition law, which we can now build on.

Howard has always been highly respected as the quintessential public servant: lots of integrity, he cared tremendously about the public interest and he was always perceived as being wise. Howard has quietly shared that wisdom with many of us here, particularly colleagues who have had to tackle complex issues associated with policy and legislation.

Howard, we have been privileged to work with you, learn from you and benefit from your wisdom. You will now have more time to grow and play your collection of electric guitars, and to sharpen your competitive edge in your tennis games even more.

We will miss you here, Howard, but you haven’t seen the last of us. We are going to stay in touch. All the very best, and thank you for your friendship.