Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): I move, seconded by the honourable Minister of Education (Mr. McCrae),

THAT this House convey to the family of the late Neil Gaudry, who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, its sincere sympathy in their bereavement and its appreciation of his devotion to duty and a useful life of active community and public service and that Madam Speaker be requested to forward a copy of this resolution to the family.

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Mr. Filmon: In sharing my thoughts and reflections about our late colleague, Neil Gaudry, I will say that, as I have on other occasions, the most difficult part of a motion of condolence for someone with whom we have personally served is the personal reflections and the sense of loss that we all share in remembering the individual.

I want to begin by saying it was my great honour to have served as honorary pallbearer at Neil's funeral. It was a wonderful celebration of his life, and there were a tremendous number of colleagues from this Chamber who shared in that service. It was beautiful to see the great reverence with which he was remembered and the great joy that people had in celebrating his life and his contributions.

Neil, of course, passed away earlier this year at the age of 61. I will attempt to list many of his interests and achievements in 61 years of tremendous dedication and devotion to family, friends, and community. I will probably miss some and I am sure that others of his colleagues will be happy to join in and fill in many of the gaps.

Aside from his service in this Chamber from April 26, 1988, until this February, Neil, of course, had many other achievements in his career. He was a businessman, principally known as secretary-treasurer with Malcolm Construction Ltd. for a period of 25 years. He was, of course, very active in the community, very proud of his roots in the Interlake, but also of his time in St. Boniface and certainly became synonymous with so many different activities in St. Boniface.

He was a member of the Board of Directors of Notre Dame Recreational Centre for 12 years, nine as treasurer. He was a member of the St. Boniface Council of the Order of the Knights of Columbus, serving as Grand Knight from 1980 to 1982, and subsequently became the district deputy for a four-year term. He was founding president of Accueil Colombien, a seniors complex in St. Boniface where I believe his mother lived, and he was a very popular regular visitor on almost a daily basis over a long period of time. He was chair of Langevin Residence, a multipurpose community residence for handicapped people. He was a member of the Order of the Voyageurs and together, of course, with his wife, LJ ona, his beloved wife, LJ ona, they served as the official voyageurs in 1984 and 1985. My first recollection of Neil was in that role.

He was, of course, very fond of his French-Canadian heritage and its culture and involved for several years with l'Ensemble folklorique de la Rivière Rouge and, of course, in 1983 mayor of the pavillon Canadien-Français at Folklorama. He was very involved in education, believing that to be a fundamental value that was important to be passed along to generations and served on the Provencher School parents committee and the Collège Louis Riel parents committee. He also, of course, was a life member of the St. Boniface Historical Society and for 10 years a member of the Board of Directors of St. Boniface Museum and served for many of those years as chairman. Neil brought in Mr. Maurice Prince, the executive director, to see me on a number of occasions on issues to do with the museum.

He was proud, of course, of his roots in Saint-Laurent and was a member of the Union nationale métisse Saint-Joseph, and he spared no effort, of course, being involved in the effort to clear Louis Riel's name so that he could one day be recognized truly as a Father of Confederation. Neil served for several years on the Board of Directors of Foyer Valade in the Taché Centre. He was, of course, involved with Club La Verendrye and club des hommes d'affaires, as well as Chambers of Commerce in both St. Boniface and Winnipeg.

Neil also from his time here in this House became an active member of l'Assemblée internationale des parlementaires de la langue française, and he served in a number of capacities such as the Western Canada vice-president. He was a Canadian parliamentary observer of the presidential election in Togo, Africa, and a Canadian parliamentary delegate at the annual conference in Bucharest, Romania, in November of 1995. More recently, Canadian parliamentary observer to the general election where he joined with President Jimmy Carter in Caracas, Venezuela.

I know that these are the official responsibilities of Neil Gaudry, the organizations to which he belonged, the many, many levels of achievement that he assumed, the responsibilities, the positions and all of those, but, of course, it does not go anywhere close to being able to describe the warmth of the human being that Neil Gaudry was. I know that Janice and I would meet Neil and Léona at many, many public events, many occasions in which we would just spontaneously be at the same gathering, and it was always a matter of seeing friends. It was never a partisan exchange; in fact, I do not recall ever having a partisan exchange with Neil Gaudry despite the fact that we are in a very partisan environment and we sat on opposite sides of the House. I remember the times in this House when he brought forward issues, and I always respected his position as somebody who was representing his community, not only the community that he represented in this Legislature, St. Boniface, but the Franco-Manitoban wider community that he chose to speak for very eloquently and very effectively in this House.

I know that on issues such as the French language services policy of this government that our main objective in addition to good policy, in addition to meeting the tests that we put out for public policy, was to ensure that Neil was onside and happy with it. He rarely, although he raised some of these matters in Question Period, did so on an argumentative or accusatory basis. He always did so on a basis of trying to find a better solution. When Neil came to this House with those matters, I know that my colleagues and I always said, will Neil agree with this, will Neil approve of this, before we put forward the solution to the problem.

I remember that, when we were in the stages of developing our response to the Supreme Court decision on Francophone governance of our schools in the province that ultimately led to the creation of the DSFM, Neil was just as involved in it as though he were a member of the government caucus in offering his advice and assistance, in attending meetings in attempting to ensure that there was a groundswell of support for the consensus position that was being developed. I know he worked hand in hand with my colleague the member for Fort Garry (Mrs. Vodrey) in her role as Minister of Education and Training, and we always felt that Neil was ultimately the true test of whether or not something was appropriate in terms of services to the Francophone community. He could always be relied upon to give you a straight, objective, nonpartisan analysis of the situation.

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So we worked, I can say this, together on issues, and I always felt that Neil's bottom line was our bottom line, and that we did all of these things in an effort to try to ensure that we were making better public policy.

I know that Neil went through some difficult times in recent years here in this Chamber. We shared confidences, worked together to try and help him to resolve his issues as a member of the Liberal caucus here in this Chamber. He came to see me to ask about certain things to do with office space, accommodation and other things, and I always knew that I could trust him absolutely and implicitly. I believe that he thought the same about me, that we would talk over the issues, that they would be done in confidence, and I would do whatever I could to accommodate him and his interests and his needs. I know that members from time to time had some political sport, probably myself included, with the various difficulties that the Liberal caucus went through, but I felt that Neil always seemed to be able to rise above and retain his own integrity no matter what was happening around him. I was reminded of the old Rudyard Kipling saying: If you can keep your head, when all about you are losing theirs, you will be a man, my son.

Neil was certainly a man of tremendous stature and capability, and he could always keep his head no matter what was going on and always see things in a very, very balanced fashion, coming at it from a tremendous position of integrity and honesty and great, great depth of character. So I will just say that, as everyone else, I am sure, will, we mourn his loss. Janice and I certainly mourn the loss of his friendship, and we offer to all of his family, particularly to LJ ona, to Roger, RenJ and Nicole, our heartfelt sympathy and our constant gratitude for the life that Neil dedicated to the people of St. Boniface, to his friends and community, and to the people of Manitoba. We are forever grateful for the contributions that he made, and we will remember him very, very fondly and with great appreciation for all those things that he did for the people of Manitoba, and, as well, of course, for the friendship that we will cherish forever.

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition): It is with a great deal of sadness that one assumes the responsibility to respond today in condolence to speak to the proud life of Neil Gaudry, an MLA in this Chamber and a person who many of us worked with for well over 10 years in this Chamber day after day in our responsibilities. There are a number of emotions that one feels like expressing at a time like this and obviously the great loss we all feel across all party lines with Neil's death at 61 years of age, a death way too young for a person with so much vitality.

I want to send our condolences to Léona, Roger, René and Nicole and express some of my emotions today to this Chamber and to the people and to the family. We all knew Neil in different ways through our different experiences–our personal experiences with Neil, our political experiences, our experiences in the community, and obviously his family would know him through their family connections.

On a personal note–and I want to start with some personal comments–I always felt Neil was a very, very kind and generous person, a very dignified person, humorous and proud at the same time. He was always a person you could talk to and would meet in the hallway and would exchange a little bit of humor and a lot of dignity and a lot of warmth. It was, as the Premier has said, always a nonpartisan greeting with a little partisan joke, if you will, but a person who could laugh at others and himself equally, which is I think an important characteristic for anybody who is going to survive in this Chamber, but an individual with a great heart as well as a good mind.

I always knew he was a compassionate person, a generous person. He loved the activity of life. I mean, you would pick up activities that he would be involved in by being involved with them yourself or you would pick them up the next day. I was at St. Boniface golf course last summer and heard that, of course, he was there the night before at the annual golf tournament and celebration, and he was not the first one to leave the event in the celebrations that followed the golf tournament. I, of course, would experience some of these same lasting memories myself, the Caribou at the Festival du Voyageur, whether it was–well, I will leave it at that, because we all know that that was very much part of the festival–but the great ability to share with LJ ona and Neil those wonderful events that he was so dedicated to and were so important to his representation of St. Boniface.

On a political level, he was a Liberal. There were no ifs, ands or buts. He was an unequivocal Liberal, proud of it. As the Premier had indicated, he was very concerned about French language services whether it was in education, the community college, the university, the franH ais divisions. He was also very concerned about Metis people and the aboriginal people. He was very, very helpful to those issues that were very important, and Louis Riel has already been commented on by the Premier. He was always at any event celebrating the historic life of Louis Riel and his great contributions to the establishment of Manitoba as a province.

He was not always easy to predict in his votes as a member of the Liberal Party, and maybe members of the Liberal Party themselves can share with us those insights. It was an interesting barometer. I know that there were times he voted with the government. I know last year he voted with the opposition on the budget, but I guess it would be safe to say that we did not know always which way he would vote. It was an interesting strength I think he had in a partisan Chamber, to have that ability to vote in a way that he thought was important to his principles and his policies but not always to be as predictable as perhaps some of us might be from time to time.

He was also a member of the national unity task force of Manitoba and was involved in the unity public hearings, I know, in St. Boniface in the past. I think that we have gone through some very interesting and unique times in this Chamber on national unity issues–the Meech Lake proposal and its weaknesses that we tried to improve but also the concerns that people had from all political parties trying to deal with that issue, and the great emotion that took place in this Chamber in June of 1990. The Charlottetown Accord and its impact on minority language rights one way or the other were also very important issues, because we knew that Neil was a proud Canadian and very concerned about keeping this country together, and that came through in all his speeches and his comments.

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I think all of us as proud Canadians were proud to work with him on our national unity issues: how we best keep Quebec as part of our national family and at the same time respect minority language rights here in Manitoba, French language rights in Manitoba, and English minority rights in Quebec; and how those mirrors of rights reflect themselves in the changing nature of constitutional innovation and other changes, and at the same time respect aboriginal people and First Nations people which, of course, as the critic in his party for those areas, he was also very concerned about.

So, on a political basis, he had a lot to contribute and contributed a lot to this Chamber. As the Premier indicated, oftentimes we knew he was working in a way to try to find solutions in this Chamber–lots of MLAs do that–and Neil did it very, very well on behalf of the people of St. Boniface. The people of St. Boniface had a very good representative in Neil Gaudry in this Chamber. He was a good MLA in the full sense of the word, of representing the people and their hopes and desires and their aspirations and also the issues to their language, culture and law. I think that is the highest testimony any of us can pay to a fellow MLA. He was an excellent MLA for the people of St. Boniface.

In his community, Neil was larger than life as a representative of his community, St. Boniface. In a lot of ways it is hard to follow the previous MLA for St. Boniface, Larry Desjardins, in that role, because it is a true community. You are not just representing a constituency; you are representing a community of St. Boniface with all the challenges that that represents to this Chamber. Neil fulfilled that job as a community representative because of his strong roots in the community. I did not always understand this. In '88 when I heard he was running–and I think there was some potential nomination battle or other event--and I said: Who is Neil Gaudry? I had not met him in the early '80s as the Premier had, and he said: Oh, he is a very, very popular person in St. Boniface, very deep roots in every major organization; he has represented the people in these organizations for years. He will do very well in the election of '88. He did, of course, and subsequent to that in his job as representing those people.

The Festival du Voyageur I have mentioned, and the historic association of St. Boniface. The Premier has mentioned the St. Boniface Museum, the Metis organizations, RiviP re Rouge, the Knights of Columbus, a member of the Notre Dame Recreational Centre, Langevin Residence centre for handicapped people, parents council at College Louis–Riel and Provencher school, the board of directors at the TachJ nursing home, and, of course, other responsibilities in the seniors complex that the Premier has indicated.

We could go on and on and on with his responsibilities and his accomplishments in his community on behalf of his community, many accolades, many tributes, many areas of responsibility that he held. That made him truly a strong representative of the people he represented in this Chamber. That was reflected in his speeches or in his comments to you, which were more frequent, I would say, than his comments when he met you or when he saw you in the Chamber. He would be talking about his feelings from his community and what that meant. He was a person, a rare jewel, I think, in this Chamber, a person of compassion, of generosity.

I will miss Neil Gaudry. He has many friends in this Chamber and many friends in the community. On behalf of our caucus, I want to offer our condolences to Léona, to Roger, René and Nicole. Thank you.

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Inkster): Madam Speaker, I, too, would like to put a few words on the record on this very important motion of condolences and extend, on behalf of the party, our condolences to Léona and the family.

Madam Speaker, when I think of Neil and the whole of St. Boniface, you know, there is the Festival du Voyageur, which many Manitobans get to see as it gets publicized through media events and so forth, in which you get a bit of a touch of what St. Boniface is all about. Through the years as I have got to know Neil, I have always thought that he embodies that spirit of the festival. Just a wonderful, joyful individual to be around all the time.

The Premier (Mr. Filmon) made reference to some difficult times, and there has been some very difficult times in the Liberal Party over the past 18 months. Prior to those difficult times, there was a great sense of a working relationship, of a positive attitude that was developed. Back in 1988, when Neil and I both were first elected, we were all somewhat new, obviously, and we kind of clustered in groups of individuals. Neil and I were privileged to the extent that we continued to get re-elected, both in '90 and in '95, and our relationship was able to grow.

Unfortunately, through many divisions, it took a bit of a setback, Madam Speaker, because of some of the things that were happening. As things started to turn around, I reflected to the last caucus meeting, the Wednesday prior to his untimely passing. It was a wonderful meeting in which, after the caucus discussion, I had engaged in a couple of conversations and the individual that I got to know prior to the division was the individual that I was starting again to see, an individual who was quite jolly and contributing and smiling.

We were speculating, in a very positive way, whether or not he was going to be running in the next provincial election. This was something in which I have seen Neil jostle with–whether it is Sharon Carstairs or Paul Edwards–as he was always wanting to make a decision which he felt was important for him, his family and his constituents.

Towards the end of the meeting, both I and, in particular, our Leader, Jon Gerrard, were of the opinion that it looks like Neil would indeed be running in the next provincial election. For the Liberal Party, we really believed that we needed Neil, Madam Speaker. The Leader of the official opposition made reference to not knowing Neil prior to '88. I did not know Neil either prior to '88. In fact, back in '88, I thought we had this all-star candidate that was being proposed. That was Guy Savoie at the time, and everyone anticipated that Guy was going to win the nomination. Then out from what appeared to be nowhere came Neil Gaudry, and nowhere, Madam Speaker, definitely excluded the community of St. Boniface because what became very evident was that Neil had the support through the years, no doubt by the communications and the connections, that deep-rooted connections that both the Premier (Mr. Filmon) and the leader of the official opposition made reference to, that this individual was able to come virtually from nowhere, from outside of that St. Boniface, and take that nomination.

There was a great deal of excitement back in '88. When Neil had gone through and beaten out that particular opponent, there was no doubt in terms of the winnability of St. Boniface. Individuals within the party were saying, you know, this is an individual that has the ability to bring back this riding of St. Boniface to the Liberal Party because of his sense of commitment to that particular community. I heard a lot about it back then, and as time allowed for me to gain more of an insight of who Neil was, I understand why Neil was so successful not only in the nomination back in '88 but winning.

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I think if we reflect on the Liberal Party and its performances in previous elections, as the Liberal Party itself started to dwindle in the minds of Manitobans in certain areas, in certain pockets, that did not occur. Neil was very successful at getting re-elected, as I pointed out, both in 1990 and again in 1995. I think that speaks volumes in terms of if you look into the real reasons why this individual was so successful I believe is because he had his priorities right.

His first priority was, in fact, his wife, LJ ona. I must say, my wife Cathy felt very special when LJ ona embraced her at the service. The Gaudry family has been very warm and accepting of both me and my wife, and even during the worst of times, Madam Speaker, LJ ona was still smiling and still being good to me and Cathy.

I had, even during those worst of times, discussions with Neil, and both of us knew that things would work out. It will take some time, but it would work out. I believe that it is Neil's family that was in essence what gave him his strength first and foremost and kept him very strong both inside and outside of this particular building. There is no doubt whatsoever in my mind that his reliance on LJ ona was absolutely critical. He would never have been the person that he was without LJ ona. That is in part the message that I received from Neil in the discussions that we have had, and we had talked about families in the past. He made a special effort of being super kind to my children, a 10-year-old and a seven-year old. I remember listening on the radio shortly after his passing and someone made reference to Santa Claus. I cannot remember the context, but I can recall my little girl walking into the office and swearing that she saw Santa Claus.

Next to being that wonderful family-oriented individual I believe is his constituency. I believe that Neil put his constituency ahead of the Liberal Party. It was more important for Neil to see a strong, vibrant Francophone community, not only within the community of St. Boniface but outside of St. Boniface.

I sincerely believe that Neil's actions when it came to debates within this Chamber or debates from within the caucus that he always took into consideration things such as what his constituents would want to see him take into consideration along with what the party's, in particular the Leader of the party's comments were in regard to an issue.

Neil was not someone who spoke at great length within the caucus, but when he did speak he did have the attention of everyone. When I say everyone I am referring to the days when we were a caucus of 20 or 21 in which there were a lot more good times because, when you are in a larger caucus, you seem to be able to have better quality friendships develop. The Premier made mention of Neil as someone who would often confer with the government in trying to assist the government in making good policy.

Madam Speaker, Neil, to the very best of my knowledge, was never one for grandstanding. He never fought saying, I have to ask a question, unless he really believed that the question had to be asked. Where Neil was most effective was in his ability to sit down with individuals one on one or one on two and have conversations from his heart as to what he believes is right. He was able to take that and have that sort of a discussion from within the caucus and then into the Chamber, and that is why I believe that he won the respect of members of all sides of this Chamber, because no one questioned his approach at trying to contribute in a very positive way to his community of St. Boniface and the community as a whole.

It is difficult for me, because I wish I knew what I could say in order to really give full justice to an individual that has contributed so much to our province. Suffice to say he will be dearly missed. He was an individual who did so many things for his family, for his constituency, for his party and for, I believe, all members of this Chamber.

With these few words, Madam Speaker, I again express the most sincere condolences to LJ ona, Roger, RenJ and Nicole, other members of the family and friends, on my family's behalf and on behalf of the Liberal Party and Jon Gerrard. Thank you.

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Mr. Steve Ashton (Thompson): Madam Speaker, I, first of all, most importantly want to wish my condolences to the family and many friends of Neil Gaudry. I cannot imagine what a hole, what a gap that has left in their lives these last few months, someone taken far too young in age, someone who has already been mentioned is larger than life.

I just wanted to add my own personal reflections because much has been said of Neil's volunteer experience, the years he spent as an MLA. I had a couple of opportunities to get to know the other part of Neil as well, his Thompson connection, for example. I very early on learned of his many visits to Thompson. Malcolm Construction had an office in Thompson for many years and coming from the North where we are somewhat few in numbers, we value people who know the experience of northern Manitoba. It was very enjoyable talking; in fact, most of our conversations would usually be with him asking me how Thompson was doing and what was happening in Thompson and even referencing some of the many people he had worked with over the years.

But there is one sort of incident, one incident in particular that I think summed up Neil for me. I am of the generation before French immersion in Thompson. I had two kids in French immersion and as my kids went through French immersion and brought their homework home and I sort of remembered some of my high school French, I felt emboldened one time to go to a reception that was held here for the Francophone parliamentary association. I wondered first whether I should even enter the door because my French was pretty rudimentary, but I actually felt comfortable because I went with Neil. In fact, I talked to Neil about it before and he said do not worry about it. He said if you are worried about your accent, you should hear some of the people from the States. You will do okay, and he said, do not worry, you will be at home.

So I went there and I remember starting off quite well. I was actually doing fairly well. I got to about the second sentence, the third sentence and I got to–somebody asked me where my constituency was and I was explaining I had a lot of aboriginal people in my constituency. I froze. I could not remember the word. So Neil said autochtone, you know, aboriginal. It went on like that for the rest of the five minutes, so I did learn the art of listening more than talking. But it was very much the way Neil was. When you met Neil privately or you met him at a reception, those partisan lines just did not exist. I still enjoyed that afterwards. He did encourage me to continue with my speaking of French, and I am working on it. I still fondly remember that. It was very much symbolic of Neil.

I just wanted to–by the way, in terms of legacies–mention that it is ironic this week that we have the rules changes that will bring about the election of a Speaker in this House. I often thought that one of the first candidates for Speaker would have been Neil. I honestly believe he would have had significant amount of support in the House, and certainly in that environment removed of some of the partisan differences we end up with as who is the first or the second or the third party, Neil would certainly do well.

I know, myself, that the best compliment you could ever make to someone is that they were a good constituency MLA. I think that is what Neil will be remembered for and that to my mind is the most important thing. I will suspect, knowing some of the people I know in St. Boniface, that many years from now people will still remember Neil fondly as a good MLA. For many years in people's hearts, when you talk about the MLA for St. Boniface, certainly Neil Gaudry will be the first person who will come to their minds. He will live on in people's hearts, people's memories.

Mr. James Downey (Arthur-Virden): Madam Speaker, I would like to join with my colleagues and all those members who have spoken and will speak in this condolence motion. As well, I would like to include my wife, Linda, and son, Ryan, and all the constituents of Arthur-Virden on the loss of a good member and a friend. I am pleased to be able to participate in the extension of this condolence motion to Léona and family.

A proud Manitoban, a proud Canadian, proud of his heritage and I believe elected for life, as it related to the constituency which he came from, certainly loyal to his party, strong in his beliefs and a vision as to how he wanted to see life unfold for the people he represented.

As minister I had the opportunity on many occasions to work with Neil Gaudry on projects that he had, initiatives that he felt were extremely important, and to the best of my knowledge, accomplished most of them, and it was not in a partisan way but in a way which was for the betterment of his area and for the province in total.

His sense of humour, approach to life, was of ease and certainly objectivity. To touch on a couple of his humorous approaches to me, always saying, when there was a federal cabinet minister particularly of his political persuasion in town, that I was always wanting to get a picture with him so that it would enhance my political career. I was of the opposite, trying to tell him that it was they who were trying to enhance their political careers by being part of that. That was a standing joke which we had. Neil always wanted to know, after hard work at the Legislature, whether or not we would be able to open the cabinet in my office after work and sometimes we did and sometimes we did not.

I think, to conclude, our province, our country and our lives have been enriched by having Neil Gaudry as a friend, certainly as a spouse and a father, a citizen and a community representative. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. Harry Enns (Minister of Agriculture): Madam Speaker, allow me to associate myself and the constituency of Lakeside with the condolence motion before the House. I do not know Neil Gaudry from his urban setting in St. Boniface, but it has been my privilege to have called on the home of his parents; his two brothers, Roland and Greg, active cattle ranchers, some 10 miles northwest of my farm in the south Interlake, a family noted for its contribution.

I simply want to take this occasion, I believe, with some justifiable pride, speaking on behalf of the modest community of St. Laurent which has brought forward some very notable people to public life, including members to this Chamber. Neil Gaudry and I shared neighbouring office space on the main floor of this building. Neil Gaudry would often admonish me to make sure that I looked after his brothers and all matters that they were concerned with, whether they were cattle issues or drainage issues or the like. I had a very good relationship with Mr. Gaudry who very often represented the Liberal Party at functions in the constituency of Lakeside, and he was always a guest, always a hospitable and generous person to be associated with.

To his family and to his extended family in St. Laurent, allow me to add my personal and that of Lakeside's concerns and acknowledgments to this condolence motion.

Ms. Jean Friesen (Wolseley): Je voudrais aussi rendre mes hommages au député de Saint-Boniface qui est décédé si soudainement en février. Neil Gaudry portait la ceinture fléchée aux occasions cérémoniales. Il était très fier de la nation métisse, mais certainement comme député de Saint-Boniface, il avait un lien important et historique avec d'autres générations de Manitobains. Comme les funérailles à la cathédrale ont démontré, le député de Saint-Boniface occupe une place dans sa communauté et dans la société franco-manitobaine entière qui est très différente de la situation de la plupart des autres députés.

Inévitablement, il est la voix d'une communauté qui est plus grande que la circonscription elle-même. Il parlait une langue qui n'a pas toujours reçu le respect de tous les Manitobains. M. Gaudry n'était pas le seul député ici ayant le français comme langue maternelle, mais je crois qu'il savait qu'il était le premier responsable pour sa survivance comme une langue quotidienne dans la vie législative du Manitoba.

J'ai travaillé avec Neil Gaudry au comité chargé de choisir les stagiaires législatifs. J'ai bien connu son énergie comme membre d'un parti sans beaucoup de députés mais qui portait les mêmes responsabilités ici que nous autres. J'ai vu moi-même et j'ai admiré son jugement indépendant et son sens de l'importance de l'égalité.

De la part des gens de Wolseley et des Néo-démocrates ici, Madame la présidente, je voudrais offrir mes sentiments de sympathie premièrement et surtout à la famille, mais aussi aux gens de Saint-Boniface et à ses collègues du Parti libéral dans cette Législature.

Madam Speaker, I would also like to pay homage to the member for St. Boniface who died so suddenly in February. Neil Gaudry wore the ceinture fléchée on ceremonial occasions. He was very proud of the Metis nation, but certainly as the member for St. Boniface he had a significant historical link with other generations of Manitobans. As the funeral service at the cathedral made evident, the member for St. Boniface occupies a place in his community and in all of Franco-Manitoban society that is quite different from the situation of most other members.

Inevitably, he is the voice of a community that is greater than the constituency itself. He spoke a language that did not always receive the respect of all Manitobans. Mr. Gaudry was not the only member here having French as his mother tongue, but I believe that he knew that he was the person primarily responsible for its survival as a daily language in the legislative life of Manitoba.

I worked with Neil Gaudry on the committee responsible for choosing legislative interns, and I was well acquainted with his energy as a member of a party with few members, but who had the same responsibilities as we have. I witnessed and admired his independent judgment and his sense of the importance of equality.

On behalf of the people of Wolseley and the New Democrats here, I would like to offer my sympathies, first and foremost to his family but also to the people of St. Boniface and to his Liberal Party colleagues here in the Legislature.

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Mr. Gary Kowalski (The Maples): I too would like to add my condolences to Léona and the family of Neil Gaudry. I know from having gone to a family funeral, I cannot remember if it was Neil's mother or father, and seeing how close that family is and seeing their strong belief in God and their religion, that I know they are reinforced by that faith, and I know they will be strong during these difficult times.

But it is ironic, today I was at another funeral. I was at a funeral of a retired police officer who passed away. His son was my cruiser car partner. That man, unlike Neil, was not strong in his religion, so it was a very secular service. What they did is instead they asked people to come forward and tell stories. Well, for over an hour I was laughing harder than I laughed before. I am sure there are many stories that could be said about Neil, but this is being recorded in Hansard, and I think we will use discretion, because that is how I remember Neil. We had our difficult times, and we all know about those, but not everyone knows about the wonderful times that I had with Neil.

You know, when I first got elected in 1993, I was in a caucus of seven people and I did not know Neil at all. After a few caucus meetings and a few Question Periods, many people here know I hated asking questions, but it was the duty. I kept saying, well, how come Neil does not have to ask questions? Neil has his way of doing things, I was told. Leave Neil alone. So, okay, that is fine. So I did my duty and I pointed the fingers at the ministers and I asked the questions like I was told. But after the '95 election there were only three of us, myself Kevin and Neil, and we became very close.

That is when Neil sort of took me under his wing and he explained some things to me. He says, if you want to help a constituent, learn the minister's staff, learn to relate to the minister, and deal on a personal level as one human being to another, and you will help your constituents more than standing up and shouting in Question Period. So Neil was my mentor. I learned a lot about how to serve your constituents from Neil Gaudry.

When there were only three of us–especially immediately after the election–I used to love to shock Neil. I would do things like come here in the middle of the night, and not everyone knew. For some reason, my former office key–for I think it was Room 228–happened to be a master key. So I had the joy of being able to go into Paul Edwards's former office and our old caucus office and come here in the middle of the night and be moving everything into Room 151. Eventually Todd, the building manager, would get angry at me because next morning he would find scratches on the floor where I had been moving furniture down the hallway. Neil would come in, and he would just laugh and shake his head.

I got to relate very well to Neil, because Neil was–I know it is probably not politically correct to say in these times–but he was a man's man. A lot of times at the end of a session and that, Neil would invite me down to his office, and he would serve me some cold tea. At least I think it was cold tea; it was that colour. You know, he would pour it in the glass. The glass would be a very short way from the top, and he said, would you like some coke in that? There was no room.

Neil would sit back in his big blue high-back chair, and I would think of the most outlandish things to say, the most shocking thing, the most politically incorrect things to say. Neil would just roar laughing, and he would say you are crazy. Tears would be rolling down his eyes, and that is the memory that I will have of Neil Gaudry. I will remember those good times.

I think it was in '95, the summer of '95, that Kevin and I decided we were going to take up golfing. Well, of course, Neil had his annual fundraising golf tournament which I would take part in. But, for that summer, every week we would go to a different golf course. Lo and behold, we even got Neil to go out to the north end golf courses. We went out to Kildonan Park Golf Course. We went out to Player's Course and that. The other part I liked about Neil is that I could beat him in golf, and that was a lot of fun.

As I have said in my throne speech and that, it was sad that we had some bad times, but even there Neil was my mentor in that now I realize that intemperate actions and intemperate words we have to live with. I think we were on the way to mending things, but some day, hopefully, when my life is over, maybe I will have a chance to be with Neil, and we will be able to resolve our differences. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. Bonnie Mitchelson (Minister of Family Services): Madam Speaker, I rise today to join with colleagues on all sides of the House to pay tribute to a fine gentleman and a very decent human being, Neil Gaudry. My most fond memories of Neil are those mornings when we came in the back door of the building together–both Neil and I parked at the back door–and there was never a time that we did not meet and exchange very pleasant greetings. Neil always had a smile on his face and always a kind word to say.

I have to say, too, to my colleagues, and as I did to LJ ona as we attended the memorial service for Neil, that I was one of the more fortunate colleagues in the Legislature. I happened on many, many occasions, especially at holiday times when Neil and I would meet on the back steps or in the back hall, have the opportunity to hug and kiss each other and wish each other the best of the season or whatever it might be. So I was one of those more fortunate, I suppose, that got the traditional Francophone kiss on both cheeks from Neil Gaudry on many, many occasions. He was a person that truly, truly represented his community and his constituents.

As the Minister of Family Services, I had many occasions to work with Neil on individual specific cases of people he would bring forward in his community that were having issues, whether it be in the welfare system or on the Child and Family Services system. We always tried to work together to ensure that what was in the best interests of his constituents was done. I have to say that we were able to make some positive things happen as a result of that relationship.

I think the one thing that Neil was most proud of, and one of the times when I gained a lot of respect for Neil, was when he introduced a private member's bill last session, Bill 202, and spoke so eloquently about that piece of legislation. It was amendments to The Child and Family Services Act that would allow grandparents the opportunity, in more cases, to access their grandchildren and get visitation rights through contested divorce situations.

Neil brought that private member's bill forward, as we were going through consultations on amendments to The Child and Family Services Act, and Neil and I worked together. Ultimately, the exact issues that he brought forward in his private member's bill were incorporated into our Child and Family Services Act. I think, we have provided the ability to work together, crossing party lines, with Neil recognizing that the best interests of families and children were being served. So I have to give Neil much credit, and indicate to his family that I am very proud of the way he dealt with that issue, the way he brought it forward.

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Madam Speaker, I just wanted to read one paragraph that Neil read into the record when he was introducing his private member's bill: "Madam Speaker, it is popular to claim that it takes a village to raise a child. I would like to point out to all the members of this Chamber that grandparents are an important part of that village. They are the elders who can guide and support younger members of our village."

Madam Speaker, that was the kind of person Neil Gaudry was. I have to say that many times when I walk into this Chamber and come down the stairs, I look just over to my right and I miss very much the smiles, the positive salutations and greetings of one Neil Gaudry. He was truly an asset to this Legislative Assembly, an asset to the community and the constituency that he served.

I know that his family must feel very proud that Neil touched so many lives in such a positive way and he will be remembered so very fondly by all of us for many, many years to come. Thank you.

Mr. Marcel Laurendeau (St. Norbert): Madame la présidente, Neil était plus qu'un collègue. Il était un ami spécial. Chaque jour quand j'entre dans la Chambre puis je regarde à droite je pense à Neil, puis chaque fois que je me lève pour prendre la parole je pense à Neil parce qu'il y a quelque chose qui manque. Il me disait tout le temps: "Laurendeau, en français." Je vais essayer, mais des fois les mots ne sont pas tous là.

Neil essayait de me montrer les mots nouveaux, puis des fois je disais: "Comment qu'on dit ça? Les Nouveaux Démocratiques?" Il disait: "Non, non. Ça c'est les Néos." Il y avait d'autres mots que je ne vais pas essayer de dire ici.

Mais quand même Neil avait un coeur si grand, il voulait tout pour sa communauté francophone. Il travaillait pour la communauté métisse, puis quand ça venait au Festival, ce sont ces mémoires-là que je vais vous raconter, on était là une fois avec Léona puis Neil–je pense que c'était le mercredi ou le mardi, je ne suis pas certain maintenant–on a pris un couple de Caribous ce soir-là puis un couple d'autres. Après ça, j'ai pris un taxi pour retourner chez moi puis, le jour après, il fallait prendre un taxi pour aller chercher le char.

Neil était là quand j'étais dans le trouble. Même quand je pensais qu'il n'y avait personne là, Neil était là. Il venait me voir quand j'avais des troubles puis on parlait des choses importantes à un individu. Il ma montré que le Seigneur était là quand on en avait besoin, et maintenant le Seigneur a un nouveau pour regarder nous autres quand on travaille, et c'est de Neil qu'il va maintenant avoir des renseignements.

Madame la présidente, la politique de la collaboration: c'est pour ça que Neil va tout le temps rester dans mon coeur. Il pouvait travailler avec tout le monde–quasiment tout le monde. Il y en avait un cas, et on pourrait dire des paroles ou raconter des histoires de ça, mais–ce n'est pas facile de dire les choses qui sont là de Neil. Son sourire est encore là. Chaque fois qu'on entrait dans la Chambre, Madame la présidente, vous entriez avec M. Remnant, puis moi et Neil, on vous faisait le bonjour quand vous entriez. Neil le faisait en français. Moi, je le faisais en anglais. Puis un couple de fois on a échangé nos sièges pour vous confondre.

Madame la présidente, je veux dire merci a Léona, Roger, René, Nicole, la famille Gaudry, de nous avoir donner la chance de connaître Neil, de travailler avec Neil et d'avoir Neil pour un ami. Merci.

Madam Speaker, Neil was more than a colleague. He was a special friend. Each day when I enter this House and I look to the right, I think of Neil. Each time that I stand up to speak I think of Neil because there is something missing. He always said to me: "In French, Laurendeau." I am going to try, but sometimes the words are not all there. Neil tried to teach me new words, and sometimes I used to say to him: how do you say this, the nouveaux démocratiques? No, he would say, that is the Néo-démocrates [New Democrats]. There were other words that I will not try to say here.

But Neil had such a big heart. He wanted everything for his Francophone community. He worked for the Metis community and when it came to the festival, it is those memories that I am going to tell you about, once we were with Léona and Neil I think it was a Tuesday or Wednesday, I am not sure now, that we had a couple of Caribous and then a couple more, and then I took a taxi home, and the following day I had to take a taxi to go back and get my car.

Neil was there when I had troubles. Even when I thought there was nobody there, Neil was there. He came to see me when I had difficulties, and we talked over things that are important to an individual. He showed me that the good Lord was there when you needed Him. Now the good Lord has someone new to watch us as we work, and will be kept informed by Neil.

The politics of co-operation are the reason that Neil will always remain in my heart. He could work with everyone–almost everyone. There was one case–we could get into some stories and words about that–but, it is not easy to say what there is here of Neil. His smile is still there. Every time we entered the Chamber, Madam Speaker, you entered with Mr. Remnant, and Neil and I would greet you. Neil would do it in French; I would do it in English. A couple of times we exchanged seats to confuse you.

I would like to say thank you to Léona, Roger, René, Nicole, the Gaudry family, for having given us the opportunity to know Neil, to work with Neil and to have Neil for a friend. Thank you.

Hon. James McCrae (Minister of Education and Training): Madam Speaker, I am pleased to join with my colleagues in this Legislature to offer condolences to the family of Neil Gaudry on his recent passing.

I think that sometimes it is felt that we live in a somewhat cynical world, and I also think that Neil Gaudry made performing the function of a politician a noble thing. In that sense, I think all of us in this Legislature, and perhaps all politicians who were Neil's contemporaries, can feel that we are a little better than we might have been had it not been for our opportunity to work with someone like Neil Gaudry. It was probably somebody like Neil who first said that it is amazing what can be accomplished when nobody cares who gets the credit. That is the way Neil handled his work as a constituency representative.

In my various portfolios, I had a number of occasions to work with Neil, to be approached by Neil over this matter or that relating to his constituency and people within that constituency. He certainly knew how to get the job done, as others have pointed out. He did so in a diplomatic way and perhaps it is something we could all learn from that, Madam Speaker, because it truly did get the job done and his constituents as individuals and as a community are better off for it.

But I think that it would be appropriate to say that Neil Gaudry essentially moved quietly and modestly in the sphere of his life and without pretension did many good acts not for himself but for the cause of good. I cannot think of a better epitaph for somebody of the quality of Neil Gaudry.

Hon. Shirley Render (Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs): Madam Speaker, I too would like to rise to pay tribute to Neil Gaudry. It was for me a privilege to work with Neil. Although our constituencies were neighbouring, we did not run into each other as much as I would have liked. We did work together with a volunteer group called Save our Seine, and in fact it was Neil, typically it was Neil, who initiated an all-party resolution here in the House regarding the Save our Seine group. As other members have said, that was the way that Neil worked. It was on consensus. It was quietly. It was not I, Neil doing this; it was let us work together for the betterment of the community. He was an excellent constituency person.

My knowledge of Neil came mainly from what I saw here in the Legislature. I was impressed. He did not grandstand; he was always a gentleman. He will be missed. My sympathies to the family. Thank you.

Mr. Denis Rocan (Gladstone): It is with great sadness and regret that I rise in the House to pay condolences to our late friend and colleague Neil Gaudry. It is with a heavy heart that I do this, as I would rather have him here, to hear his voice and feel his presence in this Chamber. However, Neil left such a tremendous legacy that we can all still feel his presence here. As I look above, look at the family the sadness that goes with every moment, my heart goes out to each and every one of the family as I had the personal knowledge of sharing some special times with these wonderful people.

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Neil était un député qui a fait le travail de ses électeurs d'une façon efficace mais tranquille. Beaucoup de gens ont dit que Neil s'intéressait plus à résoudre les affaires de ses électeurs qu'à voir son nom dans les journeaux. Il n'a pas cherché la gloire. Je pense que cette idée illustre l'esprit de Neil Gaudry.

Il était ici pour servir la population de Saint-Boniface. Il est devenu bien connu pour faire son travail d'une manière personnelle. Il a visité les ministres lui-même pour discuter les affaires de ses électeurs et électrices. Sa porte était toujours ouverte. Les gens de sa circonscription ont perdu un représentant dévoué. Neil était adoré et respecté dans sa communauté.

Neil Gaudry représentait la circonscription de Saint-Boniface, et les communautés franco-manitobaines et michifs. Il a créé un profil pour ces peuples dans cette Chambre quotidiennement. Il était actif dans le Festival du Voyageur, les Chevaliers de Colomb, était bien fier de ses racines michifs. Grâce à sa présence et son caractère, beaucoup de gens Michif sont devenus plus fiers de leur héritage et de leur culture. Neil a porté sa ceinture fléchée avec fierté, et il a travaillé fort pour promouvoir la culture michif. Grâce aux efforts de Neil et d'autres membres de la communauté michif, on regarde Louis Riel comme un héros.

Neil et son épouse Léona avaient élevé une belle famille, dont il était très fier. Après sa mort, il y avait une photo de Neil avec un de ses beaux enfants quand il était petit. J'avais des larmes dans mes yeux en regardant cette photo, car elle saisit son esprit fin et tendre. Cet esprit, ces caractéristiques étaient les éléments les plus importants de Neil Gaudry.

Neil a laissé un legs avec le travail qu'il a fait, mais on se souvient de Neil aujourd'hui et pour toujours, car il était fin et généreux. Il était fidèle et chaleureux, et la personnification de l'intégrité. Neil était à l'aise avec les autres, et on a tous apprécié son sens d'humour et son affabilité.

Je voudrais partager avec vous les paroles des autres amis de la famille Gaudry qui étaient dans l'hommage de La Liberté. Et je cite : "Neil Gaudry était une personne très humble qui faisait passer le bonheur des autres avant le sien. Son départ est sans aucun doute une grosse perte pour la communauté canadienne française, et surtout pour le peuple michif. Neil Gaudry était en effet le premier Voyageur officiel michif et il a bien représenté sa nation. Un autre ami a remarqué que, et je cite : "Le départ de Neil Gaudry laisse un énorme trou. Non seulement au sein du parti libéral mais de toute la communauté. Il s'est distingué parmi ses collègues pour ses grandes qualités humaines. Neil avait des amis dans tous les partis.

Neil was a member who did the work of his electors in an efficient but quiet way. Many people said that Neil was more interested in solving the problems of his electors than in seeing his name in the papers. He did not seek after glory. I think that his idea illustrates the spirit of Neil Gaudry. He was here to serve the population of St. Boniface. He became well-known for doing his work in a personal way. He visited ministers himself to talk about the business of his electors. His door was always open. The people of his constituency have lost a devoted representative.

Neil was loved and respected within his community. Neil Gaudry represented the constituency of St. Boniface, and the Franco-Manitoban and Michif communities. He created a profile for these people in this Chamber daily. He was active in the Festival du Voyageur, the Knights of Columbus, and he was very proud of his Metis roots. Thanks to his presence and his character many Michif people became more proud of their heritage and their culture. Neil wore his ceinture flJ chJ e with pride and he worked hard to promote the Michif culture. Thanks to his efforts and other members of the Michif community Louis Riel is now regarded as a hero.

Neil and his wife Léona had raised a fine family of which he was very proud. Following his death there was a photograph of Neil with one of his beautiful children when he was little. I had tears in my eyes looking at this photograph because it caught his fine and tender spirit. That spirit and these characteristics were the most important aspects of Neil Gaudry.

Neil left a legacy with the work that he accomplished, but we remember Neil today and always because he was kind and generous. He was faithful and warm and he was the personification of integrity. Neil was at ease with other people, and we all appreciated his sense of humour and his affability. I would like to share with you the words of other friends of the Gaudry family which were in the tribute in La Liberté, and I quote: "Neil Gaudry was a very humble person who put the happiness of others before his own. His departure is undoubtedly a great loss to the French-Canadian community and above all for the Michif people. Neil Gaudry was, in fact, the first official Michif voyageur, and he represented his nation well."

Another friend remarked, and I quote: "The departure of Neil Gaudry leaves an enormous void, not only within the Liberal Party but within the entire community. He distinguished himself among his colleagues for his great human qualities. Neil had friends in all parties."

During our responses to the throne speech, I listened as colleagues on all sides of the House paid special tribute to Neil. The same themes kept re-emerging. Almost everyone made mention of the fact that Neil rose above the partisanship that often divides this House to become a popular and well-respected colleague. The close to 2,000 people that showed up for his funeral service bears testament to strong feelings and respect that people felt for this man.

Our former Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable Yvon Dumont, grew up in St. Laurent as did Neil. He was heard to remark that even while growing up, people looked up to Neil and respected him. He was a great man, and this greatness was obviously evident all throughout his life. He was a leader in the true sense of the word.

I made mention of the community projects to which Neil made a lasting impression, but he also travelled abroad to contribute to valuable programs. Neil made several trips overseas to South America and Africa to observe elections in emerging democracies and to help educate people about the democratic process. This is just one of the many ways that Neil made a lasting and meaningful impression to the legislative and democratic process.

We were fortunate to have worked with Neil and I hope we will be mindful of the lessons which he imparted. He made invaluable contributions to his home community, the city of Winnipeg and indeed the province. Most importantly, though, Neil was someone many were proud to have called a friend.

Je me souviendrai toujours de Neil Gaudry comme législateur et comme ami. Merci.

I will always remember Neil Gaudry as a legislator and as a friend. Thank you.

Mr. Clif Evans (Interlake): Madam Speaker, I would like to just express a few comments about Neil and our relationship and the relationship that I had with Neil here in the House. It was not a very political one, I must say. It was more of a friendship and more of a sociable one, and there are many things that I wrote down here just in the last few minutes that I remembered over the past eight and a half years. Not all of them I could not, because of all the things that we have said between each other over the past eight and a half years, I certainly could not remember, but he was always open to me as to others just as a friend. I would come over and sit down with him and talk about whatever, whether it was the golfing tournament that the hotel association was going to have or how business was going when I still had my business. We talked about constituency work, the type of things that were going on.

He did have a way of teasing me. When I decided to run in 1990, my partners to be were very good friends of Neil's from the Club Saint-Boniface, the Franco magnifico group, and amongst that group were some very close people with Neil and his family, I believe, and Neil–I know we sat there many times and me being a hotelier, he would say, when are we going to get over and see Franco at the St. B.? I would say, whenever you want to do that, Neil, you let me know, but give me plenty of time so that I can make sure either somebody is going to drive me home or drive me there, one or the other. The invitation was always open to me just on a social basis. Politics between us was very rare; as I said it was constituency work, it was more family.

It has been a great loss to Manitobans in my mind because not only do people consider, and should consider, us strictly politicians, we have feelings, we have friends, we have camaraderie–I cannot say that properly–are comrades amongst each other. He would always wave. He would always say, comment H a va? to me. Once I found out exactly what it meant, I tried to respond. He always asked about my family, and again the laughter. We would go to the hotel association curling. He loved that. The hotel association golf tournament, he really loved that, and if you were close to Neil and his group you knew that he was around because all you could hear was the laughter and the laughter and the laughter and the good times Neil was having while we were at hotel association functions–and, of course, after, and it did not matter who it was. He was always friendly. He was always so interested in what you were doing as a person and not politically.

A few little stories that I just want to relate. One day, and I hope the member for Gladstone (Mr. Rocan) remembers this when he was the Speaker, Neil and I and Mr. Rocan were sitting in the lounge. This was when we were smoking. Neil was sitting with us, and we were talking about nothing, just having a good time laughing. My colleague Dave Chomiak came in and he looked at the three of us sitting there. He said, boy, it is nice to see that the three parties can sit down sociably and enjoy each other's company, and Mr. Rocan said now all we need is a Tory.

I have another story. Neil would always tease me and say, you know, you should be on the other side, Evans. And I would say, you know, Gaudry, so should you, so let us go hand in hand across, and he would laugh about that, et cetera. He would always tease me about that. I teased him about that too, and that was out of fun.

At a hotel association dinner where I had the pleasure of sitting with Neil and the Speaker and the Premier, Neil got up to say greetings, and he said: it is wonderful to be here today, and I was just having a tremendous discussion with all my Tory friends at the table where I was sitting, and, of course, the Premier and the Speaker and everybody else and himself, his Tory friends.

Just to say that Neil was in my mind a jovial, tremendous person with a big heart who worked hard for his constituents, as we all do, but the dedication that he put in and everything that he has done in the years that he has been a member of the Legislative Assembly, I honour that, and I honour his family. Condolences to each and every one of you.

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Hon. Rosemary Vodrey (Minister of Culture, Heritage and Citizenship): Madam Speaker, I stand to join in these condolences and to pay respect to our colleague, Neil Gaudry. I would like to recognize some of his personal qualities. They have been mentioned before, but they stand out in my mind. His warmth, that was always there. His smile was always along with it. He had a very easy-going manner which made him very approachable, very easy to work with. He knew his values and they centred him.

His professional qualities, he has had a very strong community commitment as the list of his dedicated service to the community reveals. He has had a commitment of issues to all Manitobans, but he has also had a commitment of issues to the Franco-Manitoban community and particularly to the new school division, the SFM, which was brought into his existence and where I first had the pleasure of working with Neil Gaudry on a regular basis around an issue that was important to him.

He had a commitment to heritage, and I met with him many times, as the Premier (Mr. Filmon) said, with Maurice Prince. He had a commitment to culture. My last meeting with Neil was when he brought in to visit with me the board of the Cercle MoliP re. I met with him at the Centre de patrimoine, I met with him at the Festival de Voyageur, and he had such a wide range of interests and commitments. He truly was all over the community. Mitch and I had a great opportunity to visit with both he and LJ ona in many places.

I would like to take a moment to express my sadness and my condolences to LJ ona and to the family. They are also all very personable and warm people. Politics is sometimes a difficult place to be, but when you were with Neil and his family, it always felt like it was a good place to be, so I will never forget Neil. I will never forget Neil the family man, Neil the warmspirited person. I am going to miss working with Neil. I am very glad that I knew him.

From everything everyone has said today, it seems to me that we felt very special to Neil, and Neil was very special to us. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr. Jack Penner (Emerson): Madam Speaker, it is with sadness in our hearts that we rise in this Chamber today to pay our last respects in tribute to Neil and LJ ona and family, having known Neil for the time that he was a member of the Legislature here for the riding of St. Boniface and having made a lot of friends because of Neil. Jean-Paul Boily and his wife, Brenda, invited us over for a social function and Neil and LJ ona were there, as well as many other people of the Liberal Party; Jean-Paul, of course, having been the president of the Liberal Party of this province for some time.

It might surprise some people that we socialized on a regular basis with many of the people that Neil knew, but wherever I travelled, whether it was in my riding or anywhere else in this province, especially in communities of Francophone descent, Neil was known. Whether it was in St. Boniface or St. Malo or whether it was in St. Jean Baptiste or Letellier or Woodridge or Vassar or St. Joseph, people always asked whether I knew Neil. You had to say that this person truly represented what the Francophone community in this province is all about.

Neil was known for not having abandoned his roots. When I travelled in '89, I believe, Harry, it was, when the now Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Enns) invited me to his riding to the community of St. Laurent to meet with the then leader of the Metis Federation, the Honourable Yvon Dumont, to talk about a project in St. Laurent, Neil asked whether the project could actually receive some provincial consideration. I said to Neil, really what interest have you got in St. Laurent? He said, I was born there.

Later on, I met Neil in St. Laurent when we visited some friends at the beach, and I thought it was rather unique that when we attended Neil's funeral that the card displayed something that I will never forget, a picture of Neil and a young child walking down the beach. That is where I met Neil on at least two occasions, walking down the beach. Anybody, I believe, that can walk down the beach holding the hand of a child truly has eternity in his heart.

I think Neil demonstrated that to us in this Chamber many times by how he conducted himself and in what high esteem he held his constituents and indeed all Manitobans by serving here and by serving his people. I am sure that the Good Lord will not forget the service he rendered to his people, to his family, and to his country. For that we pay a debt of gratitude and a tribute to Neil Gaudry.

Mr. Edward Helwer (Gimli): Madam Speaker, I would just like to rise today and add a few words in tribute to our dear colleague and friend, the late Neil Gaudry. His sudden passing this past February certainly left a void that has been felt in this Chamber and all through this Legislative Building.

As a member of the Legislative Assembly, Neil was very well known and respected for his dedication and tireless efforts on behalf of his constituents. He was a very active member also of the St. Boniface community and he set an example of service to his constituency and to this province that we should all strive to follow.

Neil and I were both first elected in 1988 to this Legislature, and I am very glad to have had the opportunity to work with Neil through my duties as caucus chair and government Whip. He was the kind of individual and politician who would always look for the common ground and would work to find the solution that would benefit everyone involved. Outside of our official duties, Neil and I enjoyed an odd game of golf together. We also attended many functions where Neil and LJ ona were representing their party, and Adeline and I certainly became very good friends of LJ ona and Neil. We will certainly miss their friendship, both inside and outside of the Legislature.

I would just like to send my thoughts and condolences out to Mrs. Gaudry and the Gaudry family on the loss of a dedicated husband, father, and friend. We in this Chamber thank you for sharing him with us and for supporting his work as a member of the Legislative Assembly. His contributions to his constituents and to the Legislature and to this province will not soon be forgotten. Thank you.

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Mr. Gerry McAlpine (Sturgeon Creek): Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute and offer my condolences to LJ ona, Roger, RenJ , and Nicole. My first meeting I guess with Neil Gaudry went back to 1988. I was the chairperson for the other candidate that ran against Neil Gaudry, Guy Savoie. That was my first involvement. It was a real experience to work in the Francophone community and one that I will cherish for a long time. I will carry with that my experiences and many good memories.

One thing that I will always remember about Neil Gaudry–there are several things, but the first meeting that I had with him, because I never crossed any lines as far as my political involvement as a campaign manager, being often stuck in a campaign office and sending the candidate out to do their work, but on the night of the victory for Neil Gaudry, I will remember this: Guy Savoie and Neil Gaudry, as they came together to offer congratulations, embraced one another with an endearment that I will remember and cherish. They demonstrated themselves and held themselves like brothers.

That is the way Neil demonstrated his involvement with us here in this Legislature because he definitely was here for the betterment of society, the service to his constituents and to all Manitobans and, it has already been said, many organizations that he belonged to. So I do have an appreciation for why Neil Gaudry–it did not take me long to realize that when I finally came into this Legislature, in 1990, to learn the qualities that Neil Gaudry presented to his constituents and the people that he represented. I can understand in the years that I have been here and shared the times with Neil Gaudry in private conversations that we would have in my feeble attempts to converse with him, and limited as it was, Neil Gaudry was always accommodating. I respected him for that.

So it is with great remorse on behalf of my wife Jeanie and my family and all the members of Sturgeon Creek–I know that Neil Gaudry represented a saint in St. Boniface. Neil Gaudry was a saint, and, God willing, I think, we can all look on ourselves as our service to the people and use Neil Gaudry as an example as we go onward into our representation as members of this Legislature and remind ourselves of the conduct and how he demonstrated and held himself and the respect that he had among all of us here.

On behalf of my wife Jeanie and my family, I offer my sincere condolences and best wishes to Léona, Roger, René and Nicole, and all the people of St. Boniface in this tremendous loss. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Hon. David Newman (Minister of Northern Affairs): Madam Speaker, it is indeed a privilege for me to rise on this occasion to pay tribute and to celebrate the life and legacy of the distinguished member, honourable member for St. Boniface, Neil Gaudry.

He set an example. As the honourable member has just said, he set an example of the calling which we can all aspire to in terms of his conduct, his demeanour and his content, his responsible way of participating in this House. He was also a service provider to his constituents in an exemplary way. Probably most important of all, I saw him to be a servant of God the Creator, who brought credit to his religion and to his family in that way. I saw him as a very humble person, with a great sense of humour, respectful of others, and bringing, as the member for St. Vital (Mrs. Render) has said, a collaborative, constructive approach to issues like Save Our Seine.

In short, he was an example, a role model for all of us. My wife, Brenda, and I are privileged to have known him and to have gotten to know his wife Léona through participation in events together. We have benefited from that friendship, and I close by saying it was a life very well lived.

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr. Conrad Santos (Broadway): Madam Speaker, my interaction with Neil Gaudry is in my capacity as critic for Seniors. He was also the critic for Seniors for the other party, and so we had some kind of commonality in the interest that we represent in the Legislature.

I would like to pay condolence and sympathy to LJ ona, Roger, RenJ and Nicole and the children. It is very difficult for any one of us to be in a position when we do not know what will happen to us. No one knows anything, or anything about the future or tomorrow, for the living knoweth that they shall die and then we leave everything behind, our hate, our love, our jealousies, our envies are all left behind. We go to the great beyond to face our Maker. Therefore, while we are still here, it is I think our obligation to be true to the purpose for which we are created as we are enlightened by the Almighty One and to act accordingly, but there are so many temptations around us, so many things around us, that detract our attention and therefore all the time we have to be aware of our limitations.

I always agreed with him that we should always obey the laws, the Commandments, because those are the things that will remind us how to behave accordingly in relation to each other and to the rest of whom we represent. We are nothing here. We are like blades of grass. We see right in the morning, but in the evening it is gone and we do not know where. Therefore, it is essential that we take stock of what we have said, what we have done, how we have performed our role in life. I remember an incident when there were two brothers who were arguing who is the greatest between them and who shall sit on the right or the left of the Lord. The Lord said, he who shall be chief among you, let him be a servant; he who shall be great among you, let him serve. That is what Neil had implemented in his life: serving his constituents, serving other people the best way he understood, and if there is any meaning to public service at all, it is it, service. That is what we try to all do in this Legislature. Thank you.

Hon. Glen Cummings (Minister of Natural Resources): Madam Speaker, I rise to add few words of condolence to the Gaudry family on behalf of Heather and myself and the constituency of Ste. Rose.

Neil conducted himself in this House in a dignified and honourable fashion, always a pleasure to do business with. My association with Neil other than business in the House was primarily when he was working for his constituents or for other people across the province whom he considered as constituents. He always conducted himself in a manner that made him effective as a lobbyist on behalf of those for whom he wished to be heard and wished to have their case heard appropriately. He always, in my experience and I think verified by what everyone has said here today, dealt with all of us in an honourable fashion so that he gave real meaning to the term "public service" and to the term "honourable" in the way he conducted himself in this House. He will be a loss.

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Hon. Darren Praznik (Minister of Highways and Transportation): Thank you very much, Madam Speaker, for the opportunity to add a few words to this motion of condolence to the Gaudry family.

As a member of the class of '88, in which Neil was one of the 25 or so of us who entered the Legislature following that general election in 1988–in fact, one of the things I am most pleased that we were able to do last spring was to have a dinner of the survivors of that class of '88, in which Neil and the member for Inkster were present, along with my colleagues on this side of the House who also came from that class. We had the opportunity to reminisce over our years together in this Legislature and all of the changes that had taken place and the ups and downs of political life.

Neil, at that dinner, was so much a pleasure to be with. He was just that way when he first entered this House. It did not matter what political stripe one carried, Neil was your friend. I think if we had ever taken a vote in this Chamber as to which individual member was liked by all, Neil Gaudry would have been the winner of that vote by a wide and long mile. He was just that type of a person.

The last time I saw him was at the Festival du Voyageur, just within a day of his passing. I was walking into the fort, one of the buildings, the store I think it was. It was not a brutally cold night but a bit of a chilly night. The door opened and I walked in with my host and there was Neil, dressed as a voyageur. With a big hug, Darren, my friend, he said, a big hug, and I introduced him to the people we were with. He had that jovial smile and that warm, welcoming way that made everyone feel just right at home. Even those who had never met him before all of a sudden felt that they had met an old friend.

That was Neil. To his family, who joins us today, I say to them that no stronger fighter for the citizens of his constituency has served in this Legislature, and no greater advocate for the Francophone and Metis communities in our province has, in my view, sat in this Legislature. For both communities he always stood for their advancement as part of this province. He brought their issues forward. He advocated on their behalf, and he worked towards the improvement of conditions for both the Francophone and Metis communities in our province.

He was proud of both parts of his heritage and the heritage of our province, of which those communities are so much a part. He was a friend to all of us, a friend to Manitobans, a great Manitoban.

He will be greatly, greatly missed, not just by his family but I think by all of us here. If Neil can hear us today, I think we all say to him, Neil, our good friend, farewell. May you rest easy.

Hon. Linda McIntosh (Minister of Environment): Madam Speaker, I had the privilege of parking out back where Neil used to park. For some reason our patterns of arriving at work coincided almost all of the time. So many, many mornings I would come up the steps with Neil, him coming up from one side and me from the other. We would get out our little cards to open the back door and stand and have a few minutes conversation before the day would begin.

Always, of course, we would comment on the weather. It got to be a standard little thing as the seasons passed. We would talk about their impact on our bodies, our cars, our homes, our work, but also in those little exchanges would be the one or two little comments about the day.

So what have you got on today, Linda? Oh, well, Neil, I have got this and that. Oh, well, and I have got–whatever he was going to have. Always in those was a cheerfulness, an optimism that he would solve today's problems. Sometimes, especially towards the end, some of the day's problems were difficult as they were having difficulties internally in his party, there always was the sense that they would be resolved, they would get resolved, it would work out. That confidence and faith that people of good will could make things work ultimately in the end was very much a part of Neil Gaudry.

Neil was one very interested in education. He used to bring issues forward for discussion, always in a very constructive way. He never rose to badger in the House; he always rose when he felt it would be important that a question go on the record, so that it could be seen that the issue was raised for discussion in this Chamber and discussed with these people. But, more often than not, the questions and concerns he had, he would get them solved quietly without bringing them here. In that sense, he was extremely successful in getting issues resolved. He would go right to the decision makers and say that I need your help for my people. When he rose to criticize, it was always constructive. My colleagues have talked about how fond we were of Neil, and friendships do not develop normally that way between parties. The adversarial system makes it difficult for that to occur. With Neil, it was not difficult.

We will all miss him very much. He left a legacy of standards that are difficult for a lot of us to meet, in his gentlemanly way, a true gentleman, rarely seen and often sought in this Chamber.

Madam Speaker: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

Some Honourable Members: Agreed.

Madam Speaker: Agreed and so ordered.

Would honourable members please rise and remain standing to indicate their support for the motion.

Hon. Darren Praznik (Government House Leader): Madam Speaker, I believe if you canvass the House, there would be a willingness to call it six o'clock.

Madam Speaker: Is it the will of the House to call it six o'clock? [agreed]

The hour being 6 p.m., this House is adjourned and stands adjourned until 1:30 p.m. tomorrow (Tuesday).