Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to rise today on behalf of the government and my Liberal caucus colleagues to pay tribute to the life of one of our former colleagues, someone you also knew well, Mr. Speaker, and one of my best friends, the late Hon. John McCallum, whose kindness, generosity and incredible sense of humour touched everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him.
I will provide a brief overview of his long and distinguished career.
Before entering politics, John was known as one of Canada's top economists. He started his academic career in western Canada, at the University of Manitoba, before becoming dean of the faculty of arts at McGill University, where he was at the forefront of the national unity debates that were on Canadians' minds at the time.
In 1994, he left university life for the private sector where he held the position of senior vice-president and chief economist at the Royal Bank of Canada. That is where he forged a reputation as a very well-respected economist who could explain major economic trends in simple terms for the average person, a quality that helped me a great deal throughout our friendship.
After more than half a decade at RBC, John decided in 2000 to enter public life, and he was elected in the riding of Markham—Thornhill. That was when I met John for the first time. As luck would have it, we were sitting next to each other on that very first day in the House of Commons almost 25 years ago. From there on, we quickly became friends, finding common interests, not just in political matters but in family holidays together, on fishing trips in New Brunswick and family holidays abroad as well.
I will forever cherish those memories, and seeing John's wife, Nancy, and their children on Parliament Hill today reminded me of those happy moments.
John became minister in January 2002, and later I had the opportunity to serve as his parliamentary secretary at National Defence, the highlight of what was then my first term in the House of Commons. In those early years, in addition to his ministerial responsibilities, John made a name for himself as a courageous and outspoken advocate on pivotal issues that helped shape Canada into a more open, tolerant and welcoming society.
In June 2001, as a backbencher, he introduced a motion in the House of Commons to nominate Nelson Mandela as an honorary citizen of Canada, making Canada the first country to extend such an honour to this iconic champion of equality and human rights.
Fast-forward to 2015, when, building on his ability to leverage Canada's global reputation as a compassionate and progressive nation, John, as the newly appointed minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, spearheaded Canada's efforts to resettle more than 40,000 Syrian refugees in record time.
The scale of the task cannot be overstated. It required mobilizing considerable government, local, private sector and community resources, and John poured his heart and soul into this noble effort. His success was our nation's success, and all of us can be proud of the way Canadians opened their homes and their hearts, as they have time and time again over the course of history, to those people fleeing war and persecution. John McCallum led that effort brilliantly. John embodied those values and led those debates.
Throughout his career, he served Canadians with intelligence, dedication and kindness.
I would like to offer our sincerest condolences to his beloved wife, Nancy, and to their three boys, Andrew, Jamie and Duncan. May they find comfort in knowing the profound impact their husband and their father had on our country and his numerous friends and colleagues, myself included. His legacy will live on here in the House of Commons, in his community and in the lives of the thousands of people whom he helped to find hope and solace.
Rest in peace, my friend. Thank you for your friendship and remarkable service to our country.