Statement made on 23 November 2010 by Senator Peter Stollery (retired)
Hon. Peter A. Stollery:
Honourable senators, it is an unusual experience, retiring from nearly 40 years of political life in Parliament; so I put a note or two together.
When I was first elected to the House of Commons in 1972, it was a difficult election for Liberals. As to who would form the government, Mr. Trudeau or Mr. Stanfield, much depended on the recount in the then Ontario constituency of Norm Cafik, Liberal. He lost on election night and was re-elected on the recount, giving a two-seat majority to the Liberals who, under the parliamentary and able guidance of Allan MacEachen, formed the government. It was an exciting but worrying time for me. There I was, just elected and broke, having paid for my election myself, facing defeat in a month or two in another election.
Here I am more than 38 years later with people saying nice things about me, which I appreciate. They do not say anything about you when you are defeated in the House of Commons; you are gone. I did not know anything about Parliament when I came here. One big difference between being elected to the House of Commons and being appointed to the Senate is that when someone is elected to the House of Commons, they come in with other people. They become friends because they all go through the same horrible experience for the first time. It is like their year at school.
When someone comes to the Senate, they come in on their own, and it takes longer to develop camaraderie. I have been lucky. I have had many friends during my time in the House of Commons and I have developed camaraderie here in the Senate.
I want to thank all those who have enriched my life: all the people in far-away places who taught me about the ways of the world and those who helped me and taught me on my political ways. It was an assortment of characters, of whom I want to single out Mr. Ken Counsell, the late husband of our former colleague Senator Trenholme Counsell, and Mr. Joseph Ricciuti of Toronto.
Honourable senators, allow me one moment to mention my parents: my mother, who put up with my unorthodox ways and my late father, Alan Stollery, who encouraged me.
I learned to speak French because in, 1955, my father said, "We have two languages in Canada. People need to speak more French in Canada." When I found a job in French-speaking Algeria in 1958, I sent him a note, to which he responded, "Go! It will give you the opportunity to learn French." Of course, 1955 was long before bilingualism was fashionable.
That was from a businessman in Toronto who did not speak a word of French and who had rarely been out of Ontario.
Without the inquiring mind of my dad who gave me an inquiring mind, I would be nothing.
Honourable senators, I have a lot to be grateful for and I am grateful. I want to thank all of you for your kind words and my heartfelt thanks to those who made me.
I see Mrs. Calvert in the gallery who has been on the Hill since 1962 and has worked with me for a long time. I wrote in my notes that she has put up with me. I think the truth is we put up with each other since 1972. That is quite a record.
I end, honourable senators, by saying, first, that Senator Mahovlich nearly did stump me in New Delhi. I do not know how I ever came up with Lutyens; I am not kidding. I was thinking of all kinds of obscure architects and the name popped out at the right moment.
Second, regarding this business of airplanes and travel, I do not believe in airplanes. I am lucky because I started my life before the long distance jet, so I spent my years travelling over land and by sea. One cannot meet anyone sitting in an airplane looking down from 30,000 feet.
Third, to Senator Di Nino, we do not move on to washing machines and dryers until the next part of the course. At the moment, we are learning about stoves, and there are more wires in the back of a stove than I have ever seen in my life.
Thank you very much.
Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!