It’s an honour to rise today to pay tribute to my friend and former colleague Daryl Kramp, the MPP for Hastings–Lennox and Addington. First and foremost, Daryl was a kind and decent person, representing all that’s right and good about politics, somebody who went out of his way to check in on you and made sure you knew that he cared about you.

Daryl reached out to me shortly after we were elected in 2018 and he wanted me to know that he might be new to Queen’s Park, but he was not new to politics, and if I needed advice, I could reach out any time. We both agreed that we would work across party lines, and that’s a promise Daryl kept. It was during our time on committee that we really got to know each other, before and after committee meetings, having many conversations about how we could make Parliament work better. And it was when I was down, after losing a vote on what I thought was a reasonable amendment, Daryl would walk up to me, give me a pat on the back and a pep talk.

Daryl and I formed a stronger bond when it was my turn to reach out to him and say how much I enthusiastically supported his private member’s Bill 216, the Food Literacy for Students Act. I, along with many local food and farming advocates, were strong supporters of Daryl’s bill, and it was my turn to repay the favour whenever he got down and needed some words of encouragement when he was frustrated that his bill was hitting some roadblocks.

Our last conversation was about Daryl’s health and Daryl’s bill. This past December, I was walking through the hallways just before we were going to rise, and the light was weird and this tall gentleman started walking towards me and I couldn’t quite see who it was. And this voice said, “Mike, it’s Daryl—Daryl Kramp. Do you have a minute to talk?” And in my mind, I didn’t, because I was late. I knew I was late, but something told me to stop and have a conversation. We talked about his health. Most of all, we talked about his family. We talked about our relationship and how much he appreciated my support for his bill. But most of all, he wanted to ask me how I was doing. In the midst of his health battle, he was more concerned about how I was doing. So, Speaker: Daryl, a kind and decent man indeed.

I want to say to the Kramp family, thank you for sharing such a remarkable person with us. His legacy lives on in our hearts.