Statement made on 04 June 2009 by Senator George Furey
Hon. George J. Furey:
Honourable senators, as Chair of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration, it sometimes falls to me to take note of the departure of employees after significant and dedicated service to the Senate of Canada.
On January 16, 2009, Ron Tremaine, Managing Editor of Debates, came in for his last day on the job, before taking his well-earned retirement. He was seen off by his many friends and colleagues and took with him a comprehensive scrapbook of his career — a career that has had an impact on all of us in this chamber.
Ron joined the debates team in 1981 as a parliamentary reporter, following two years in the other place. In 1990, he became the senior reporter and was tasked to work on the development of the real-time transcription system used to capture debate in the chamber and in committee. While initially intended as an efficiency exercise in turning out transcript, Ron foresaw as early as 1992 in an article he wrote for the Canadian Parliamentary Review that real-time transcription, as performed by our parliamentary reporters in the middle of the chamber, could be turned to the purpose of providing closed captions in both official languages for televised proceedings.
Closed-captioning is now a common feature of televised Senate committee proceedings. As a result, the full-screen real-time text of chamber debate is made available for viewing on channels 19 and 20 of the Parliamentary Television Network and on monitors in the public galleries.
In addition, our former colleague Senator Gauthier, for one, was able to continue his work in the Senate because of the efforts of Ron and his team, and I know Senator Gauthier was exceedingly grateful for their support.
Using computer-assisted transcription has been judged by external consultants as a cost-effective means of producing our debates. When one adds the fact that live text of the spoken word can be viewed by our visitors in the gallery and broadcast on television, as well as assisting the work of senators, the Debates Services team is not only a highly skilled and professional unit, it is extremely productive as well. It is also worth noting that our chamber is the only one in the world that is able to provide all of these accommodations simultaneously and in both official languages.
Ron has enjoyed a good reputation throughout his career. He was elected by his peers to be the president of the Hansard Association of Canada, and we benefit from his tremendous legacy every day. Ron and his wife Paddy are now the happy grandparents of two grandchildren. The most important things in life being family, friends and the respect of his peers, one can say that Ron Tremaine is truly a wealthy man.
Thank you, Ron, for your dedication and service to the Senate of Canada and, in turn, to Canadians in general. On behalf of the Senate, I offer best wishes to you and your family on a well-deserved retirement.
Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!