I have the privilege today of paying tribute to Lily Oddie Munro, a cabinet minister in the David Peterson government whose political journey began in my hometown of Hamilton back in the mid-1980s.

Lily Munro was first elected MPP for the riding of Hamilton Centre in 1985 after losing a by-election the year before by the slimmest of margins—just 64 votes. She was appointed Ontario’s Minister of Citizenship and Culture, the only woman in cabinet at that time. Two years later, following the Liberal landslide of 1987, she became Minister of Culture and Communications. She was an energetic, self-confessed workaholic who embraced cultural issues.

Lily Munro’s career certainly did not begin on a political path. After graduating from Delta Secondary School in Hamilton, she went to work as a secretary at Stelco steel. Munro remained at Stelco for 13 years. She then decided that she wanted to improve her formal education. She was driven and determined. At the age of 32, Lily Munro enrolled at university and earned not just one degree but three degrees, including a doctorate in educational philosophy. Following graduation, Dr. Munro worked as a psychologist. She became the director of the Centre for Continuing Education at McMaster University.

Lily Oddie became more engaged in politics when she began working for federal MP John Munro, a man whom she later married. John Munro once described his wife as a “tough fighter and a hard fighter.”

As Minister of Culture, she was a fierce proponent of funding for the arts and culture. She fought for funding to restore the Elgin and Winter Garden theatres because she desperately wanted to provide year-round employment for seasonal theatre staff. She weathered the storm around accusations of conflict of interest in the Patti Starr affair and brushed aside daily calls from the opposition to resign. Her staff called her “Tiger Lily.”

Lily Munro had deep roots in Hamilton. She immigrated to Canada from Britain with her family after the war. She served on various boards and committees in Hamilton that promoted the well-being of women, children and the disabled.

Lily Munro has been described as being shy and reserved, but those who knew her well say otherwise. She was spontaneous, energetic and warm.

At 80 pounds, she was a black belt in karate. I’m told that in an east-end Hamilton karate club, she once broke another woman’s ribs.

At the age of 60, Munro decided she wanted to ride a motorcycle. After getting her licence, she went on rides with friends to the United States. She gave up the bike at the age of 70, at the insistence of her son.

She was a woman with no reservations about getting up on stage in costume for roles in theatre.

Another time, the culture minister graced the front page of a Toronto newspaper dressed as a character from the musical Cats.

When the Hamilton Tiger-Cats won the CFL Eastern final in 1985, Munro led this House in an Oskee Wee Wee chant. In fact, Lily Munro was a staunch Steeltown cheerleader who raised Hamilton’s profile at Queen’s Park.

Decades after her high school graduation, Lily Munro was inducted into the Delta high school Wall of Excellence.

Lily Munro embraced life. She lived a long and full life. She passed away at the age of 83.

I want to thank her son, John, and grandson, Finn, for sharing their mother and grandmother with us. She was a woman who had Hamilton’s best interest at heart, and we are a better community because of her work.