Good morning, Speaker, and everyone. From Anishinabek Nation, we have Deputy Grand Council Chief Travis Boissoneau and Jackie Lombardi. From Sachigo Lake First Nation, we have Dean Beardy and also Robert Barkman. We have Chief Lorraine Crane from Slate Falls First Nation; Chief Lefty Kam from Bearskin Lake First Nation; Councillor Cynthia Fiddler from Sandy Lake First Nation; also, Allen Tate, Freddie Shakakeesic, Mike Loon; Anne Chabot and also Frank McKay from Windigo First Nations Council.

Also, I have some guests visiting all the way from Vienna, Austria: Lucia Huemer and Gerald Wolf. Thank you for being here.

I seek unanimous consent for a moment of silence in memory of Cynthia Lai, city of Toronto councillor for ward 23, Scarborough North. Cynthia sadly passed away suddenly on Friday, October 21, while seeking re-election. We offer our sincere condolences to her family and her constituents at this time.

It’s an honour for me to rise today and to pay tribute to Joe Dickson, a much-loved and respected member of our Liberal caucus, a gentleman who welcomed me into this Legislature.

Known to many as “Mr. Ajax,” Joe had an unwavering love for his family and his community, as was clear in the way that he took pride in serving the people of Ajax–Pickering for more than 30 years.

First elected as an Ajax councillor in 1983, Joe Dickson finished up as Ajax–Pickering MPP in 2018, a role in which he had served since 2007. In representing Ajax as MPP, Joe served as the deputy government whip from 2007 to 2011, and he went on to serve in the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration from 2013 to 2014 and the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines from 2014 to 2018 as a parliamentary assistant.

For his many years of service, Canada’s Governor General honoured Joe with both the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 “for outstanding achievement or public service in Canada.”

It is no surprise, then, that Joe was so well known in his Ajax riding. He was known for being a huge advocate and champion of the hospital there, and more generally for the whole of the Ajax community. And this was true throughout his life and career, as well as in his business and personal life.

Dickson Printing, Joe’s family-owned business, opened in 1969 and developed into a full-service printing operation which won 17 straight readers’ choice awards for best printing company. And when he retired from politics in 2018, Joe returned to Dickson Printing as president, spending his time with his beloved wife, Donna; his two children, Jim Dickson and Joanna Dickson-Jones, and their families; and his five grandchildren, Madeline, Grace, Carys, Audrey and Fynn.

I had the privilege of knowing Joe professionally, and I have so many fond memories of him. He invited me to many Caribbean events in Ajax. It meant a lot that he never missed an opportunity to acknowledge me whenever he saw me in this chamber or in the halls. He made me feel included.

Mostly, I remember Joe and his beautiful wife, Donna, as they had such an impact, standing head and shoulders above the crowd in life and in commitment to service. Whenever they were at our Liberal events, you would just notice their elegant figures coming through the room. Joe was known for his good nature and his sense of humour. He was always poking fun. You never were in his presence without getting a good laugh.

On a personal note, I remember Joe and Donna frequently visiting my cousin’s restaurant in Ajax for dinner. As the head chef there, my cousin developed a fondness for Joe and Donna, a sentiment that was commonly felt among all who knew them.

I was at a local restaurant, Beryl’s Pepper Pot. It’s an authentic Jamaican restaurant that actually spread three franchises across Durham—family and independently owned and operated. As you know, Joe Dickson was a supporter of small businesses. He helped this owner, Beryl, get herself established and championed her opening her third location. She said to me that it would never have been possible without Joe. He made the call.

So today, I want to express my deepest respect and admiration for Joe Dickson for stepping up and serving in public office throughout his lifetime, for contributing in countless ways to the success of the community he loved, and for making Ontario politics a more fun and interesting place to be.

Joe Dickson devoted his life to serving the public and his beloved community of Ajax. Ajax and all of us are indeed fortunate to have had such a passionate and devoted MPP. I want to say thank you to his wonderful family for sharing him with us for so many years. Thank you.

Applause.

I appreciate the opportunity to rise today to pay tribute to Gord Miller, who came to Queen’s Park in 1975 as a member of the Liberal caucus. Gord is a political legend in Haldimand–Norfolk.

Again, I’d like to recognize and welcome Gord’s family to Queen’s Park: his son, Doug, along with his wife, Flora; grandsons, Jamie and Geoff; granddaughter Meghan and her husband, David; as well as their children, Brynn and Mason.

My predecessor, Toby Barrett, knew Gord well, and I have heard many stories in local political circles. Gord was known to give Toby a hard time over his opposition to wind turbines. However, the two agreed on at least one subject—a subject the member from Oxford alluded to. The people of Haldimand–Norfolk had never warmed to the idea of regional government. Gord knew this well as a municipal councillor. So in 1975, he ran provincially on the platform to scrap it, and he was successful. Gord would go on to serve as the MPP for Haldimand–Norfolk for 15 years, until 1990. While the scrapping of regional government did not happen during his term, Toby picked up the torch, and in 2001, the new Haldimand and Norfolk counties were reinstated.

I spoke with my good friend Dennis Craddock last week. Dennis became the provincial Liberal association CFO when Gord decided to run—a job Dennis still performs. He told me, “He was a giant of a man whose iron fist in a velvet glove dictated his life.”

Gord lived his entire life committed to community service and could often be found in an arena—in his early days as a player, in later years passing along his passion for the game to players as a coach.

A farmer by trade, Gord was a distinguished politician, a down-to-earth, down-home guy who easily related to those in the community.

Despite humble beginnings, Gord shared what he could give and began volunteering at a very young age, flooding the ice in the 1940s for local hockey players, an elder at the Jarvis Presbyterian church and a 75-year member of the Lodge.

Doug often wondered how the man he looked up to found time to do all he wished while still being a husband, father and eventually grandfather and great-grandfather. Gord always told his four boys—Doug, Barry, Glen and Alan—that his commitment to the community never seemed like work, but rather, it was fun.

I am told he always gave credit to the women in his life, who supported him and picked up any slack at home while he was away. Reta Johnson was Gord’s first love and mom to the four boys. Sadly, Reta passed away in 1973.

In 1976, Gord married Shirley Christmas, who was instrumental in helping Gord deliver scrolls and attending dinners with him.

Former MPP Jack Riddell and his wife, Anita, were two of Gord’s very best friends. They shared many committee trips while here at Queen’s Park, but their friendship extended well beyond the political calling.

I’m told Gord worked here at Queen’s Park and in our beautiful riding as hard as he did in his fields. I’d say that’s good rural Ontario stock.

As a lover of trees and the forest, Gord, well into his nineties, could be found piling wood on the property. He said it kept him young.

Last year, on February 23, Gord passed away at his Jarvis-area farm, where he first came into this world. He was three days shy of his 97th birthday.

Speaker, Haldimand–Norfolk is a better place because of the work Gord Miller accomplished and laid before us. In the community of Jarvis and beyond, his absence is felt as strongly as locals long felt his presence.

It’s an honour to stand here today on behalf of our Ontario Liberal caucus to pay tribute to Mr. Gordon Irvin Miller, Liberal MPP for the riding of Norfolk from 1975 to 1990. And we all heard that right: 1975 to 1990, a Liberal MPP in Norfolk. That in itself probably says a lot about Gord Miller.

Now, I obviously never had a chance to meet Mr. Miller, but you get to know people by going through articles and talking to other people. I know that he was raised by his family in Jarvis, Ontario, and he and his brothers, Bruce and Bob, took over the farm from their father. Fittingly, as we said earlier, that farm is on the road that’s named after him, the Gordon Miller Trail.

He started his political career as a school board trustee in 1960, and he was a trustee from 1960 to 1967, followed by many years in municipal politics—town councillor from 1978 to 1981, reeve from 1971 to 1973, regional councillor from 1973 to 1975, and deputy mayor of the city of Nanticoke in 1975.

As if that wasn’t enough, when the residents of Haldimand–Norfolk weren’t happy about the two-tiered government that was pushed on to them by the Conservative government of the day, Mr. Miller decided to run in the 1975 provincial election to have his constituents’ voices heard at Queen’s Park. He went on to win by over 2,000 votes over incumbent MPP Jim Allan, who had held the riding for 23 years. He was re-elected in 1977, 1981, 1985 and 1987, and served as the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Transportation.

From what I gather, he cared deeply about his community. He was a community builder. He was someone who wanted—and we’ve heard it here today—to make his community better, and the work was fun. That’s a good sign.

As the Hamilton Spectator puts it, Gord was “the quintessential good neighbour.” What a nice legacy.

Mr. Miller was named the 1990 Jarvis Citizen of the Year.

Again, as if all those other things weren’t enough, he was a Sunday school superintendent, member of the Haldimand–Norfolk United Way, advocate for Crime Stoppers and chair of the West Haldimand General Hospital Foundation. It was a life full of service that I won’t say is unmatched, but it’s up there, near the top of the kind of service that we’ve spoken about in this community, with some members here who have passed away.

Aside from being a politician, he was a big-time sports fan, a coach, a player, interested in baseball and hockey.

I think it’s really important, when someone serves 30 years in public service—and the family is here today—to thank the family for allowing their father and grandfather to serve his community. We all know that in that kind of service, it takes you away from the things that you—where you want to be, who you want to be with, sometimes. It’s a big sacrifice. It’s a big sacrifice for us as members, but it’s an even bigger sacrifice for our families,

So to his son Doug; daughter-in-law Flora; grandsons Jamie, Geoff and David; granddaughter Meghan; great-grandchildren Brynn and Mason, thank you.

And on behalf of the Ontario Liberal caucus, I want to thank Mr. Miller for dedicating his life to public service. Thank you.

Applause.