It is truly a privilege to stand here today to say a few words of tribute to Jim Henderson, the Liberal MPP for Etobicoke–Humber from 1985 to 1995, who died on May 2, 2020, at the age of 79. I know you will feel his loss still today.

I would like to extend a personal welcome to his family here today: as has been mentioned, his wife, Karen; his sons, James, Christopher and Kevin; his daughter-in-law, Kathy; and his young granddaughters, Iris and Emma. David Warner, Mr. Henderson’s friend and former Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, is also present here today. Thank you all for coming today, and for the earlier visit in September when this event was postponed out of respect for the passing of the Queen.

While I did not know Dr. Henderson personally, I recall reading about the stir he caused on several occasions when he stood up for what he believed in this House.

Between 1985 and 1995, Dr. Henderson served as a Liberal member of provincial Parliament for Etobicoke–Humber for three terms. In addition to being the official opposition critic for culture and communications, he was the parliamentary assistant to the Ministers of Community and Social Services, Colleges and Universities, as well as for the province’s anti-drug strategy.

Jim was a strong leader who understood his community and was a supportive colleague to his team in the Ontario Liberal Party. Jim’s kindness and devotion to his colleagues and constituents was evident in all his work.

As has been mentioned, Jim was known for standing true to his values. He was a man who did not shy away from asking the tough questions in search of what he believed to be right. He notably took a position that was not supported by his party, because he believed in upholding his own principles and values. As many of us in this House know, that can be a difficult decision to make, but that kind of open conversation is the kind we need in order to ensure that we as representatives of our constituents are making the best decisions on their behalf, and Jim understood that well.

Jim moved from Sudbury to Toronto in the 1940s, where he spent a majority of his life and brought a remarkable amount of value to the House and the community of Toronto.

During and after his political career, Jim was a medical doctor who worked as a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. He was the director of psychiatry at the former Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital, then the director of psychiatric services at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie. Jim was also an associate professor at the University of Toronto department of psychiatry and psychiatrist-in-chief at the University of Toronto student health service. I’m not sure how he found time for any of his other hobbies.

Jim authored and published over 50 professional papers and textbook contributions.

He was also an outdoorsman and an avid fan of the canoe. He served several years as a canoe guide at Camp Ahmek in Algonquin Park and then Camp Temagami in northern Ontario.

Much like his medical career, his devotion to public service stemmed from a core value: Jim cared about people. He cared about his friends, his family, his constituents, his patients, his neighbours and indeed his province. A career in medicine requires dedication, focus and hard work. When you add in the responsibility of representing those around you with that same dedication, you know that Jim Henderson was a very special person indeed.

In addition to a remarkable career as a physician, politician and canoeist, Dr. Henderson was also an avid jogger, sailor, traveller and photographer.

There is no doubt that Dr. Henderson lived a life of commitment to his family, his values, his constituency, his province and his country, and with this, his well-earned legacy will continue to live on.

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.

I am honoured to be here today paying tribute to the Late Lily Oddie Munro and I’m thrilled that her family and friends are here in the chamber to hear all the beautiful accolades.

Lily served as the MPP for Hamilton Centre and firstly as the Minister of Citizenship and Culture, then was renamed as the Minister of Culture and Communications. At the time, under a Liberal government, she was the only woman sitting in cabinet. Lily was a champion for arts and culture in Ontario and saw the arts not as idle luxuries but as significant contributors to the economy. Arts matter.

Lily was born in Lancastershire, England, on September 27, 1931. She moved to Hamilton with her mother in 1942, where she graduated from Delta Secondary School before working at Stelco. She got her start in politics working for John Munro in Ottawa and went on to obtain degrees from Dalhousie University and Athabasca University, including a PhD in psychology. She worked as a psychologist and later as the director of the McMaster University School of Adult Education.

After an already robust career, Lily made the bold decision to run for office in 1984 in a by-election and went on to be elected in 1985. During her time as an MPP and minister, Lily worked hard to strengthen local organizations and projects, and diversity within the Ontario Legislature. She said, “We are a province proud of its multicultural identity, and I want that reflected in the backrooms and boardrooms of Ontario.”

I am happy to see the strides we’ve made towards a more diverse House since Lily served, but we still have much further ahead to go. I hope we can continue to diversify the voices that sit and speak in this chamber. Every person in Ontario should see themselves represented in this room.

Lily Oddie was a trailblazer for women in politics. At one point, she sat as the only woman minister in Ontario, and was rather outspoken about how she was perceived in this position. Her staff even referred to her as “Mr. Minister,” a dig at her impressive place in the boys’ club. As the wife of a prominent politician, she had to work hard to be remembered for more than just her husband’s name. She felt she couldn’t beat the system, so she joined it, changing the province from the inside out. Her legacy will continue through all the women elected to this legislature. I’m proud to stand here, knowing the sacrifices Lily and the other women who came before me have made so that we always have a place at the table.

As the Minister of Culture and Citizenship and, later, Culture and Communications, Lily had a unique perspective on arts and culture and was outspoken about an often-overlooked sector of government. In her words—and as the MPP for Toronto–St. Paul’s has mentioned—“Culture is more than dancing, singing and 25th anniversaries. It’s philosophy and values, and if we put culture at the bottom of our list of priorities, it’s to” the detriment of our world. That can’t be said enough. I echo this statement, as critic for culture, and appreciate the importance of these areas that she highlighted throughout her career.

Today and every day, we can remember Lily as a strong, resilient leader who brought a lot of needed attention to arts and culture in Ontario. I’m inspired by her hard work and advocacy and so strongly respect the work she did during her service as an MPP and minister. She sounds like a real character, so I feel her spirit lives on in here and will live on. May she continue to rest in peace.

It is my extraordinary privilege to rise today on behalf of the official opposition to pay tribute to the Honourable Bill Davis, who served with unparalleled distinction through four consecutive governments, from 1971 to 1985, as Ontario’s 18th Premier, who served as Minister of Education and the first Minister of University Affairs for almost a decade before that, and who dedicated himself for 26 years to the people of Peel and Brampton as an effective, likeable and hugely popular Progressive Conservative MPP.

Bill Davis is rightly remembered as Ontario’s education Premier, someone who believed deeply that, “If we get education right, everything else will be better.” But he will also forever be known as the politician who redefined what it means to be “bland.”

Davis was a transformative visionary who presided over one of the most remarkable periods of province-building in Ontario’s history. His legacy is all around us: in the world-class college system he created; in the ambitious expansion of public education and establishment of OISE and TVO; in the cancellation of the Spadina Expressway and the building out of GO Transit; in the founding of community legal clinics; in the creation of Ontario’s first Ministry of the Environment; in the introduction of rent review; and in brokering a historic compromise that led to the patriation of Canada’s Constitution and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Davis was also a consummate political pragmatist with an innate understanding that the art of the possible means bringing people along. His approach was the opposite of divide and conquer, the antithesis of polarization and unilateralism. He was an innovative change-maker who recognized the importance of listening to opposing views and taking time to make decisions, quietly mobilizing support for good ideas and just as quietly letting bad ones fade away in both minority and majority governments.

While he enjoyed the cut and thrust of parliamentary debate, Davis viewed his political opponents not so much as adversaries but as philosophically misguided good people who were no less deserving of respect. In the accolades that poured out following his passing in August 2021 at the age of 92, Davis was universally lauded for his graciousness, kindness and fundamental human decency. Many also spoke of his modesty and humility, which explains his long resistance to having his biography written, until Steve Paikin wore him down in 2014.

Former NDP leader Stephen Lewis, who sat across the aisle from Davis during most of the 1970s, told me in an email, “You will know that my relationship with Davis was close, even affectionate. I was very fond of him, and as much as we fought some bitter ideological battles, there was never any malice, mostly a mutual respect.”

When Davis announced he would not run again in 1985, Lewis wrote to him, “You made of politics an art that was at once was humane, generous, respectful and urgent. We often disagreed (my political colleagues have told me not often enough), but there always remained a quality of shared regard and friendship. I think of you today ... with such deep affection and admiration for what you’ve done, and who you are, and what lies ahead. We are all in your debt, Mr. Premier.”

Following Davis’s passing, Lewis said, “It’s hard to imagine a more decent adversary. When compared to the political dynamic today, the Bill Davis era was astonishingly civilized. As much as we did verbal battle across the floor of the Legislature, we maintained a friendly and harmonious relationship in the aftermath.... That was Premier Davis: a political leader of kind and generous disposition. Sure, we disagreed ideologically in ways that could never be bridged. But an atmosphere of intellectual and political generosity prevailed because that was his every instinct.”

After the NDP formed government in 1990, then-Premier Bob Rae recalled, “Bill Davis made a point of reaching out in the earliest days, and he was a constant adviser and mentor to me in what would prove to be a challenging time.... He made it clear that he wished nothing but success for me and for the province: ‘If you do well, we all shall do well.’”

For Davis, it was never about Bill Davis. It was about Ontario, about government in the service of the public good, which is why so many politicians and Premiers of all political stripes sought out his counsel and valued his advice.

It was also about community. Davis insisted on returning home to Brampton every night to the people who had elected and re-elected him seven times and always kept him grounded. But most of all, it was about family, many of whom have joined us today, along with friends and colleagues.

After the tragic loss of his first wife to cancer, Davis found a soulmate in his second marriage of 57 years to Kathleen. He was a loving and devoted father of five and a doting grandfather fondly known as “Dutch” to his 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Together, they took great delight in the boisterousness of family life, cheering on their favourite sports teams and spending time at their Georgian Bay cottage.

Bill Davis was the embodiment of politics as a noble calling. He exemplified the best of political life. We are profoundly grateful to his family for the sacrifices they made to share him with us, with the people of Brampton, and with all Ontarians. Our province and our country stand in your debt.

Speaker, it’s an extraordinary honour today to rise to pay tribute to the legendary late Premier William “Bill” Grenville Davis. I’m pleased to welcome his family, his friends, his colleagues, and his many admirers to the Legislature today.

Premier Davis was and is an icon in this country. His legacy continues to directly affect each and every person in this province every day. A respected, respectful, accomplished and kind politician, Premier Davis’s conduct provides an enduring example for each and every MPP who serves in this House. His ability to bring Ontario together is exemplified not only by the praise he receives from politicians across the political spectrum, but also by his ability to successfully manage two minority governments. In a world where partisan actors continually seek to divide us, our politics and province would be well served to follow Premier Davis’s ability to compromise, to engage in cross-partisan co-operation, and to respect and work with his adversaries.

It will come as no surprise, Speaker, that as leader of the Ontario Greens, I’m most impressed by Premier Davis’s ability to see through the short-term stress of the daily news cycle to make long-term decisions that have had an enduring positive benefit for generations to come: cancelling the Spadina Expressway to maintain the vibrancy and vitality and quality of life in downtown Toronto; his role in the creation of the acid rain treaties to protect the Great Lakes; the Niagara Escarpment act, protecting our beloved escarpment and laying the foundation for Ontario’s greenbelt; and, of course, his creation of the Ministry of the Environment.

The list of Premier Davis’s many accomplishments are far too long for me to list today. But I hope, Speaker, that members from all sides of this House can agree that when it comes to the big issues of our time—the stability of our democracy, the quality of our education system, and the protection of the land, water and air that sustain life in this province—Premier Davis was a leader that was ahead of his time. Everyone who calls this province home are the beneficiaries of his life and his legacy.

So I want to say to his friends and his family, and especially his wife Kathleen: Thank you. Thank you for sharing Bill with us.

And to Premier Davis: May we all aspire to your legacy. Ontario is forever grateful to your vision, your leadership and your service. May you rest in peace.