Statement made on 24 November 2009 by Senator James Cowan
Hon. James S. Cowan (Leader of the Opposition):
Honourable senators, I rise to pay tribute to Senator John Bryden, who resigned from the Senate on October 31. Senator Bryden decided to retire three years early, but since he has packed several lifetimes of work into one, I think he can be forgiven. He has been a successful businessman, lawyer, public servant, campaign organizer extraordinaire and politician. He even claims that at one time he sold life insurance. Together with Lorrie, his wife and partner of more than 50 years, Senator Bryden calls home a small farm where he was born and raised on the shores of the Northumberland Strait; so add farmer to his long cv., and hunter and fisherman as well.
He did not start out to become active politically. Originally, he thought he would become an academic and teach at a university. He attended Mount Allison University and then the University of Pennsylvania as a Woodrow Wilson Scholar, where he pursued doctoral studies in philosophy. Happily for us he decided to switch from the philosophical study of justice to a more active pursuit of that ideal, and he returned to New Brunswick to study law.
In 1969, he became Deputy Minister of Justice in the New Brunswick government of then Premier Louis Robichaud. Senator Bryden resigned his position when Richard Hatfield was elected premier, and, never one to stand idly by, ran for the leadership of the Liberal Party of New Brunswick, first in 1971 and again in 1978. He came pretty close in 1978 on the first ballot by finishing just 53 votes behind Joseph Daigle, the eventual winner.
He then turned from running for election to helping others to win them. In 1984, he was persuaded to leave the business world to help a young lawyer run for the leadership of the New Brunswick Liberals and take on the reigning Conservatives — a little-known guy by the name of Frank McKenna. Many honourable senators remember Frank McKenna's first election in 1987. It was a sweep with Premier McKenna's Liberals winning all 58 seats in the New Brunswick legislature. Harrison McCain said, "John Bryden got him elected. Without Bryden, he wouldn't have made it." Senator Bryden went on to manage successfully all of former Premier McKenna's campaigns.
Senator Bryden was summoned to this chamber on November 23, 1994, by then Prime Minister Jean Chrétien — 15 years ago yesterday. All honourable senators come to this place hoping to make a positive difference for the people of our respective provinces and for our country. Senator Bryden certainly succeeded. He is fiercely proud of New Brunswick and Atlantic Canada. He worked quietly, usually behind the scenes, to represent Atlantic Canada's interests in Ottawa. To give you one example, in 1999, Senator Bryden was the moving force behind the development of a document out of our Atlantic Liberal caucus called Atlantic Canada: Catching Tomorrow's Wave, which took a fresh look at a number of innovative activities in progress in Atlantic Canada. He conceptualized how to put them together in an economic development plan for the region. This initiative became the $700-million five-year federal Atlantic Investment Partnership, which was launched in 2000. It was further developed into the Atlantic Investment Partnership — the Second Wave, a new five-year $708-million initiative.
Although Senator Bryden was very successful operating behind the scenes, he did not shy away from activities in the Senate, which gave him a strong public profile. For example, in 1997, he chaired the Special Committee of the Senate on the Cape Breton Development Corporation. That special committee looked closely at the coal industry in Cape Breton.
That was only one of a number of special Senate committees on which Senator Bryden served during his 15 years in the Senate. Other committees included the committee inquiring into the Pearson Airport agreements, the inquiry into the Canadian Airborne Regiment in Somalia and the so-called Kelly committee on security and intelligence, whose report is still cited regularly in security and intelligence community matters.
For most of his time here, Senator Bryden also served on our Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, bringing his considerable legal experience and skills to bear on a wide range of issues, including criminal law, constitutional law, elections law and animal cruelty, where his private members' bill succeeded in breaking the impasse that existed on that issue. That bill was passed into law last year.
He has been a passionate and effective advocate of all manner of good causes throughout his professional, business and political career. I know we will all miss his wise counsel. Whether he will miss us in equal measure is another question.
I know he is looking forward to spending time with Lorrie, his three grown children, Jock, Tricia and Peter, and his eight grandchildren — and to spending time fishing with all of them in the Miramichi.
Our very best wishes to you, John. You have made a lasting and indelible impression.
Please click here to read more tributes to the Honourable John Bryden