Mr. Speaker, on August 21, many of us were saddened to learn of the passing of our former colleague and long-time friend Gail Shea. At four foot five, she was a little lady who packed a big punch, and she put her fight to work on behalf of farmers, fish harvesters, workers and veterans. She was proud of her roots and her commitment to the island that gave her her upbringing, her career and of course her beloved family.
In addition to being a great fighter for her people, she was a woman of incredible warmth and generosity. In fact, those who knew Gail always found out that if she learned of their presence on beloved Prince Edward Island, they would be making the obligatory and extremely enjoyable visit to her residence to enjoy seafood casserole and many other island delights.
She had a generous heart, and I often turned to her for encouragement. In times of confusion and stress, I would call her to get her counsel. In the many years after she left Parliament, she continued as a mentor and friend to me.
She always lifted the spirits of the people she knew. I think of my friends from Atlantic Canada. She visited my friend from Newfoundland and his community. My friends from New Brunswick would see her pop up in their community to bring her smile, her humour and often her razor-sharp intellect.
There are so many stories of the kindness she showed to people in the community, all the personal details that she would remember about people's lives. I remember when I first started running for leader of the Conservative Party, she anticipated my long travels away from my family and gifted me two beautiful little teddy bears that I brought home to my kids. My daughter, who has a tendency to develop a great attachment to different kinds of objects and toys, held on to that teddy bear for days and days after I left on my subsequent trip. My wife told me that little Valentina held that teddy bear close to her heart.
Gail was very proud of her Irish roots, reminding us all that there are only two types of people: those who are Irish and those who wish they were. If I walked down the hallways of the parliamentary precinct while she was preparing for question period, I could hear the beautiful sound of Gaelic music and an Irish harp echoing off the walls as she quietly prepared. Her love of music was reflected in her efforts to get the Stompin' Tom Centre inaugurated in honour of the great Canadian legend.
She was also the first female cabinet minister at the federal level from Prince Edward Island, and she was very proud of that commitment. She then went on to serve as minister of fisheries and minister of national revenue. Most importantly of all, she was the MP for Egmont. She was also a provincial member of Parliament and was elected there after defeating a Liberal in a riding that had not switched blue for 40 years prior to her election.
This often meant she was challenging the way things were. She was taking strong and principled stances. This meant there would occasionally be controversy. One day, when she was at a press conference, a lady walked up pretending she was about to fix a technical problem on her microphone and threw a pie in her face. Most people would have thought the press conference would end and the politician behind the mic would quickly run away and do so in shame. She simply took her hand, wiped off her face and said, “back to the business at hand”. It turned out the protester was angry because of Gail's principled support of the all-important seal hunt, but if that protester with her bad behaviour thought she was going to change Gail's mind, she said it only increased her “resolve to support the seal hunt and our northern and coastal communities that depend on the hunt for part of their annual income.”
She was an iron lady, never backing down and unflappable, and was determined and resolved to stand for what she knew was right. She would serve provincially and federally, and most importantly, she would continue to do the most important job she had. There were three jobs she had, actually, that she bragged about most often: mom, grandmother and great-grandmother. Gail carried in her heart her strong faith in God and her love of the people who surrounded her. She will rightly be remembered as a great Islander and a great Canadian.
I was honoured to attend the mass and funeral that Islanders put on for Gail a few weeks back. It was a celebration of life that then carried over, as all Irish funerals do, to the local Legion, where it went on into the very late hours of the night. They say of the Irish that they are the only people who cry at every wedding and laugh at every funeral, and so it was once again.
On behalf of all Conservative MPs, ministers, volunteers and others who served with Gail and experienced the wonderful warmth of her personality and her faith, I wish my condolences, thoughts and prayers to the entire Shea family and to all Islanders who cherish the memory she left behind.
On behalf of my family and our Conservative caucus, may she rest in peace, in the peace of God, and may her Irish eyes be smiling at us all from above.