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Member of Parliament

Tony Baldinelli

  • Member of Parliament
  • Member of Parliament
  • Conservative
  • Niagara Falls
  • Ontario
  • Voting Attendance: 69%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $102,468.80

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 97 - Sep/16/22
Mr. Tony Baldinelli (Niagara Falls, CPC)
  • Sep/16/22 10:44:19 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise in this place during this solemn time to express my deepest sympathies and condolences to the members of the royal family and to all those in the Commonwealth as we collectively mourn the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. As the member of Parliament for the riding of Niagara Falls, which includes the city of Niagara Falls and the towns of Niagara-on-the-Lake and Fort Erie, it is my sincere honour to be able to stand in my place today to pay tribute to our beloved Queen after her death on September 8 at 96 years of age. For 70 incredible years, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was Canada's head of state. In fact, her tenure lasted for 45% of Canada's 155-year history. Given this, she oversaw many of our country's most significant events of the 20th and 21st centuries. She reigned for an incredible period of time, and did so with dignity, grace, honour and a profound sense of duty and service. For many, their understanding of monarchy and the Queen and her relationship to Canada is limited to such things as portraits adorning walls of government buildings or recognizing her face and her name on our currency, but in a real sense, it is much more profound than that. Peter McNally, a retired McGill University information studies professor, recently spoke with CTV News and said, “Today, the monarchy is the living embodiment of Canada's parliamentary tradition.” This parliamentary tradition is one which can trace its roots back over 800 years. The monarchy in Canada, as represented by the Queen for 70 years and as currently represented by King Charles III, is fundamental in our everyday lives and way of life in Canada, even if it is not explicitly apparent on a day-to-day basis. In fact, many Canadian leaders have acknowledged the importance and continued relevance of the Crown in our daily lives. In 1993, the Hon. Mike Harris, former premier of Ontario, noted: The Oath to the Queen is fundamental to the administration of law in this country. It signifies that, here in Canada, justice is done—not in the name of the Prime Minister, or the mayor, or the police chief, as in totalitarian nations—but by the people, in the name of the Queen. Rather than being offensive, I submit that it’s one of the hallmarks of our society that attracts people to Canada. A year before that, the Right. Hon. Brian Mulroney, former prime minister of Canada, stated: The Crown has symbolized a continuity in the values of decency, fairness and equality before the law that have made this country great. And no Sovereign has served her Canadian subjects with more grace, more concern and more goodwill than has Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen’s sense of duty, her courage, warmth and her honour are known and appreciated by all Canadians. In an ever-evolving world and in a sea of constant change, we could always look to Queen Elizabeth II to find our balance, stability and our courage. She was always a beacon of hope in dark times, comforting and a calming presence. Her leadership was constant and steady, fulfilling the promise she made on her 21st birthday while on a trip to South Africa with her family when she indicated: I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong. During her life, Her Majesty visited Canada more than 20 times between 1951 and 2010. She visited Canada more than any other nation in the Commonwealth. In fact, her first visit to Canada included a visit to my beautiful riding of Niagara Falls just three months before she would ascend to the throne. At that time, given her father's declining health, her tour carried an official proclamation should the King pass away while she was on tour. According to the Niagara Falls Public Library archives, during her visit to Niagara, she described the views of Niagara Falls as “magnificent” and “tremendous” as she stood at the railing of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. It is estimated a crowd of 150,000 people in Niagara Falls cheered the royals throughout their visit before they boarded the royal train to continue their tour across Canada. In February 1952, her father King George VI passed away and Princess Elizabeth immediately assumed the throne as our Queen, and she has been our Queen ever since. For millions upon millions of Canadians, myself included, Queen Elizabeth II was the only head of state we had ever known, until now, upon King Charles III assuming the throne. Queen Elizabeth's next visit to Niagara Falls took place in 1973. This was her first visit as Queen. She was on tour with her husband, Prince Philip, to open the renowned Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake and to visit nearby Fort George, an important military post from the War of 1812. One constituent recently shared with the St. Catharines Standard his memories of the Queen's Niagara-on-the-Lake visit in 1973. Ken Bridgman of St. Davids in Niagara-on-the-Lake wrote that he was the general manager of the Pillar and Post inn at the time of the royal couple's visit. Mr. Bridgman, along with MPP Robert Welch and John Drope, the owner and founder of the Pillar and Post, met with the royal couple as they entered the inn. They both had the privilege of escorting the royal couple to their rooms. During the walk, Mr. Bridgman recalls the royals expressed interest in the origins of the old building, the impact of the Shaw Festival on tourism and employment in the town, the history of Niagara-on-the-Lake, and other current events. He called the royal couple "engaging” and noted that they were “most complimentary” of their rooms. In the same article of memories and recollections of royal visits to Canada, my predecessor, the Hon. Rob Nicholson, also made a submission that was published. Mr. Nicholson served as the member of Parliament for the Niagara Falls riding for over 24 years. He wrote that he and his wife, Arlene, and their daughter, Christine, had the privilege of meeting the Queen at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto in June 2010, while he was serving as Canada's justice minister and attorney general. They had a beautiful picture taken. He noted that the Queen was genuinely warm and friendly and it was quite evident that she loved being in Canada. Given its immense beauty and rich history in nation building, Niagara has had a strong track record of attracting royalty to the area. Other visits happened long before Queen Elizabeth was even born. The first visit was as early as 1860, when the first planned illumination of Niagara Falls took place in honour of the visit of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII . Nineteen years later, in 1879, Niagara Falls was illuminated again in honour of a visit of Princess Louise and her husband, the Marquis of Lorne, the fourth Governor General of Canada. In the fall of 1901, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, the future King George V and Queen Mary, visited Niagara Falls. Since that time, Niagara Falls has been pleased to play host to visits by the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VIII, in 1919 and 1927; Their Majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1939; the Duchess of Kent in 1954; Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret in 1958; Princess Diana, Prince William and Prince Harry in 1991; and Her Royal Highness Sophie, The Countess of Wessex, in 2012. Queen Elizabeth made her final trip to Canada in 2010 at the age 84. While Niagara is a popular destination for the royals, we are all going to greatly miss the visits from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Her memory will always live on and be treasured by all those who appreciated her. Through the remainder of the 10-day mourning period, between 10:30 and midnight in the eastern time zone, Niagara Falls will be illuminated in royal blue in tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. This tribute will happen nightly and conclude on the date of her funeral, September 19. I invite all Canadians and international visitors who are able to come and witness it as a way to pay their respects in her memory. Niagara Falls holds many important connections to the royal family and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. We will always remember her, and we will always treasure those memories of her and her devoted service to the monarchy, the Commonwealth and to Canada. It has been a great honour for me to pay my respects to all those mourning our great loss through this tribute to Queen Elizabeth II. May you rest in peace, Your Majesty. Long live the King.
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