This is my first speech back since the election, and I want to say it’s a truly an honour to be able to represent Nepean again, inside the city of Ottawa, but also to be here with all of my colleagues.

This is a very important tribute for me to give because this was very a close friend of mine and somebody who needed no introduction to anybody in our nation’s capital. That’s why I’m pleased to provide the tribute today for Richard Patten—a great friend, a great leader and, to me, he was a great mentor.

Speaker, I know that there are many people here today in this assembly that are listening to this tribute, and I think it’s the finest moments we have as members of this Legislature to offer our tributes to those who have passed, but also to learn about them and their contributions rather than just being here in the day-to-day where we sometimes get a bit frustrated with one another. And trust me, from time to time, I saw a little bit of frustration in my dear friend Richard Patten as we served together in 2006 and 2007.

I know, also, there are a number of people from back home that are watching this tribute today. That includes his loving wife and community leader in her own right, Penny Patten. It also includes his former campaign manager, a great friend of mine, Isabel Metcalfe, and the candidate he roundly defeated, in 2003, for the Conservative Party, my husband, Joe Varner. And Joe, I’ll pay for that when I get home.

But I have to say, I know many of the members here—and I do hope that they read his biography and they talk a little bit about his time in cabinet. But I want to talk about the man that I knew and the lessons that I learned. Because Richard spent a lot of his life working for charities and not-for-profits and really trying to lift our city up. He did that through the Royal Ottawa hospital. He did that at CHEO as the foundation president. He did that throughout his life through the YMCA, and when I was Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries, he served on the Shaw Centre.

But he was more than a politician. He was a gracious gentleman, and he taught me five things. I think these five things are a lesson for all members of this assembly, regardless of where you come from, regardless if you are a brand new member of provincial Parliament or, like me and Ernie, been stuck here with the furniture.

He was a humble person. He offered great humility. When we ran the campaign in 2003 against him—well, not really against him, but for a vision—every single day, Richard Patten and my husband cemented a friendship. And I lament that Richard, before he passed, had to see the polarization in politics today, because Richard Patten didn’t have a partisan bone in his body. He had the community bone, and it was because of that humility that I think of him, and I think of him fondly. I actually started, in recent years, passing my own types of judgment on how to best represent my constituents, as well as this Legislature.

He also taught me—and I will steal this because Minister Mulroney is here, a line from her father: Dance with the ones that brung ya. You might think it’s about politics and back-slapping, but no, no, no, not with Richard Patten. And I know today we’re going to be also giving a tribute to our former Premier, Bill Davis—Brampton Bill. Well, one thing about Richard Patten is that every single day he stood in this Legislature, you knew the people of Ottawa Centre, the people of Ottawa, sent him to this place—and Speaker, you’re nodding because you served with him. You knew he cared more about our city than the crap that we sometimes have to deal with in politics. That is a tremendous lesson for me and it’s one that I’ve tried to follow and emulate.

He taught me that we need to make friends, both in politics and outside of politics. And he displayed that because of the friendship that he provided me. When I arrived here in 2006, three short years after he defeated my husband in a race in Ottawa Centre as the Nepean–Carleton MPP, he became my friend and he mentored me. In fact—and this may shock a lot of people, and I mentioned this to his former campaign manager Isabel Metcalfe today—when he left politics, he actually became a donor to me; a significant contributor. He always lifted me up. But he also proved that, just after politics seems to end things—and he had defeats in his life; he was defeated. He always knew that he could count on friends after politics. Speaker, I’m not going to mention my recent months, but I can tell you there were a number of people who made sure that, in this business, their friendship to me came before politics. And that says a lot about politicians, in my opinion.

I think the other thing that he taught us was to be sympathetic toward this institution and understand that as much as we are ever evolving in this institution, there are things, historic traditions that we should respect. And I remember him sitting right here, because back in the day—he had been a former minister—they kept former ministers like this guy here from Oxford down there, and it contributed to a great debate. I know I’m a little bit over time, but this needs to be said, because when I get to speak—I actually got to serve with some legends. I actually got to serve with Peter Kormos, one of the funniest people in the Legislature, and you know that too, Speaker. And the two of them one night—I was 30 years old, I had a brand new baby, Victoria, who had just been born, and I was sitting way over there where Joel Harden is. I was sitting where the current member for Ottawa Centre is, myself and Christine Elliott. And the two of them were bickering back and forth, and I thought, “I have made it. I have made it to the floor of the assembly where the real stuff happens.” And then, of course, I was sadly disappointed to learn that that really doesn’t—nothing happens down there. It happens in other places. But he respected this institution, and I can tell you, when he left it, he didn’t put the lights out. He advocated for change, more autonomy for the private member. And I think he’d be pleased to see that this Legislature in the previous incarnation of Parliament adopted more measures for private members.

Finally, I want to say this, because you should all understand this: I have had the privilege of serving for 17 years. He had the privilege of serving for 20. “MPP” is a really nice title. It goes right—say your name, “MPP.” But Richard Patten taught us that you do not need a title to serve your community. You can just get up and see a problem and fix it. I’m glad that he earned his right to be here through successive votes to this assembly. He was a man of great strength and character. He battled cancer.

I have a lot of funny stories that I don’t have time to tell, but I will say this: Richard Patten left this place a gentleman, and he left this earth a gentleman, but just like the others we’ve learned about today, they are our teachers. They are teachers that remind us that there’s life after politics, and they are teachers that remind us that when we’re here, there is an ability for us to be gracious to one another.

I want to thank you, Speaker, for this opportunity.

And to Penny, I’m so sorry that we’ve lost Richard, but I know he is resting in peace—actually, he’s resting in power.