Mr. Speaker, when former senator Ione Christensen departed this world on September 15, the Yukon lost one of its best-loved leaders. A fourth-generation Yukoner, Ione's accomplishments are legion: first woman mayor of Whitehorse, first female commissioner of the Yukon and the first Yukon woman appointed to the Senate.
Beyond her political life, Ione loved the Yukon outdoors, rafting and hiking the waterways and trails of the territory, including the historic Chilkoot Trail, which she hiked over 20 times in the footsteps of her great-grandfather's first entry to the Yukon in 1897. That same great-grandfather carried over the Chilkoot Pass a small sack of sourdough passed on through generations and nurtured religiously by Ione through many a family Sunday pancake breakfast. The sourdough also thrives in the households of hundreds of grateful Yukoners. Just this weekend, I baked a couple of loaves in which I can truly say the spirit of Ione lives on.
Before her passing, I asked Ione for advice for our leaders. “Hang in there”, she whispered. We owe Ione no less an honour than to hang in there and stand up for Canada.