Speaker remembered for courage, patriotism

OTTAWA — He was a gentleman in Parliament, someone who wanted to take the partisan nastiness out of the Senate.

By the time he became Senate Speaker last fall after 21 years in the Red Chamber, Pierre Claude Nolin had long ago earned the reputation among his peers on both sides of the aisle as a man of integrity.

To many, he was the perfect man to become the face of the Senate at a time of scandal and embarrassment. Nolin had big plans to reach out to Canadians, to improve the public image of the institution he loved so much, and to make the case for its role in a parliamentary democracy.

But on Thursday evening, just five months after he became Speaker, Nolin died at the age of 64 after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who appointed Nolin as Senate Speaker last November, said Friday Nolin was a strong advocate of “fundamental rights.”

“Thanks to his courage and patriotism, this affable and cultured man was able to exercise his talents as a unifying and enlightened guide to his colleagues up to the end lot of his life, in spite of a cruel illness,” said Harper.

Sen. Claude Carignan, the government leader in the Senate, said Nolin continued to work hard after he was diagnosed with cancer in 2010.

Nolin wanted to modernize the upper chamber.

“For him, it was a mission,” said Carignan. “He said many times to his doctors that he didn’t want to stop. Because if he stopped he would pass away.”

Sen. James Cowan, leader of the Senate Liberals, said Nolin’s death was a “real loss.”

Nolin is survived by his wife, Camille, three children and three grandchildren.

His body will lie in repose in the Senate chamber next Tuesday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and a funeral will be held at Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal two days later.