Hon. Pamela Wallin: Honourable senators, this is the story of Larry “Pretty Boy” Smith. He was, his friends said, always the best-looking guy in the room, but he kind of knew it. He is still the same, I said: perfectly coiffed hair, dapper, charming. But let’s turn to football.

In 1972, “Pretty Boy” Smith was the first overall pick in the Canadian Football League Draft, round 1, pick 1, then played nine seasons, always a running back, and won two Grey Cup championships, in 1974 and 1977. But 1975 was a different story. Eskimos versus the Alouettes, known as the “Als,” played in Calgary. It was bitterly cold. As was the fad, a young woman streaked the opening ceremonies. Many thought she was just looking for Larry.

But back to the game. Quarterback Jesse “Sonny” Wade completed a 23-yard pass to Larry. “That oughta do it,” someone heard Larry say, but then Don Sweet missed a field goal, and Edmonton won the Grey Cup by a point. But Larry had done his job. He always did. And he has two rings to prove it.

The man has a degree in economics and one in civil law. He was publisher of the Montreal Gazette before returning to his beloved game as Commissioner of the Canadian Football League, the CFL, in 1992. The league was in dire straits, so he tried expansion into the U.S. It didn’t work, but he relocated the Baltimore Stallions to Montreal, where they became the Alouettes.

His vision breathed life into a game that had been seen as a bit of an Anglo pastime and made it a passion for an entire province.

Of course, he later became team president and he has worked every day since to advise and guide and even help them find an owner with deep pockets and commitment.

So the résumé is impressive, very impressive, but he is also loved. I called a friend of Larry’s the other day. The two had careers almost in tandem as players and then as presidents of their respective organizations, the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Montreal Alouettes. Jim Hopson remembered the time that he and his daughter flew to Montreal at Larry’s behest for a game where they would be sitting with the Prime Minister. Montreal won, and the PM invited Jim and his daughter out for a celebratory drink. Larry didn’t get invited.

Jim later figured out, just as with everything else in the world, that there may have been a bit of politics at play.

The PM was Paul Martin. Larry was a bit more blue.

Larry ran for office and even contemplated a run for party leader but, in the end, he succumbed to the siren song of the Senate and served as Conservative Party caucus leader before coming to his senses and joining our team. His friend Jim said, “Just tell him he may have had a better career as a player and that he was prettier than me, but I went into the Hall of Fame first.”

So, Larry, better late than never.

Thank you for your love of the game; your commitment to the country; and for being a man with skill, determination, a sense of humour and a kind, generous heart. We take pride in being your colleagues and friends.

Hon. Pamela Wallin: Honourable senators, as the former Governor General said yesterday, the Queen — amongst many attributes — was always intentional. I love that description. She did indeed always act with purpose, and was seen but seldom heard — in the sense that she was never heard pontificating in public. But behind the scenes she led and guided presidents and prime ministers to not just rise above politics, but to do the right thing.

I had the great good fortune to meet the Queen on half a dozen occasions, covering royal tours and the Constitution. I am honoured to have received medals that bear her name on four occasions. I have watched in awe as she weathered storms. I took strength from her steely determination and her strength of character through the worst that life brings. We have all had those “annus horribilis.”

The first time I saw the Queen, I was about five. My sister and I got new and matching dresses. As she drove by in a convertible, she was just like a movie star — I thought, anyway, having never met a queen or a movie star. But my grandmother was having none of that. The Queen was to be respected. We were to remember her service through the war as a mechanic. We were to be quietly in awe.

The next time I met her, I had just returned from three months in Argentina covering the Falklands/Malvinas war. The Queen’s son Andrew had gone there to serve and fight. The Queen was on one of her many royal tours in Canada. This one was in British Columbia. Lloyd Robertson and I were there for the special coverage of the royal visit and were invited to a small reception onboard the royal yacht. Under no circumstances was I to broach the subject of the war — but I did. Her face immediately warmed as she spoke of a mother’s fear when a child goes to war, and we chatted easily about other things. She was always like that. She had an enviable ability to make you — millions of you — feel special.

Over the past many days, we have mourned and marked the inevitable. More than 5 billion people watched her funeral. Yet, as we mourned, we also celebrated a life, not just well lived but lived in service.

My heart ached for the family last night. A good friend of mine who was with them said that her children, and particularly King Charles, were profoundly sad as they reunited Queen Elizabeth with her husband, Prince Philip — but responding as children and as a son, not as a king. Charles knowing that he would never see his mom again or seek her advice, and knowing that there was no one to tell him what to do now — that was profoundly sad.

King Charles has sponsored several programs with which I am involved. Prince’s Operation Entrepreneur, through the Prince’s Trust — which I hope the new Prince of Wales carries on — is a program for veterans in need of help to transition to the civilian world. He has also sponsored a program that rescued young Afghan schoolgirls and brought them to Saskatoon to give them a second chance at life.

The Queen was an original: She was an inspiration, and she invented the modern monarchy. It will never be the same — it can’t be. She did live an intentional life, and she changed ours in the process. Her wit, warmth and keen intelligence should always be our guide. She was truly a moral compass.

As expectations and standards of leadership seem to decline in our world today, it should be our challenge now to raise them up again. It will be a show of respect for her and a way to honour her incredible service to us.

So, thank you, Ma’am. We send you victorious.

Senator Wallin: Well, I mean, this is what we’re dealing with, that kind of request. We have kind of merged the two issues in that we have a request to pre-study legislation, but then we are told that we can roll that into a different kind of long-term process. That’s not how we do business. Either we do a pre‑study, as we have just completed on the budget, or we do an appropriate committee study in which we choose our timetable, we choose our witnesses and all of those things.

These are two different creatures, and they don’t just meld.

[Translation]