PM, MPs pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth during House of Commons event
CBC
The prime minister and opposition leaders paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II in the House of Commons today, celebrating her dedication to service and recognizing the sense of loss many Canadians feel after her death.
"Last week, Canada lost the only sovereign that most of us have ever known," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the House. "It's important to take these moments, here in Parliament and across the country, to recognize the service and the leadership that she offered."
"When someone lives until 96, this should not have come as a surprise. And yet, this sudden absence has struck us all palpably and profoundly.
"Her majesty was everywhere — on coins, her portrait hanging in Parliament and post offices, her televised Christmas address, a cozy ritual in homes from coast to coast to coast."
Trudeau's tribute to the Queen is one of many taking place today in the House of Commons, which was recalled to permit MPs to deliver personal statements on the life and legacy of the late monarch.
The prime minister said he enjoyed the candid conversations he had with the Queen and that Canadians can be grateful for the advice she gave him on a range of issues.
Canada enjoyed an era of prosperity and peace under Elizabeth's reign, Trudeau said, describing her as the bedrock upon which Canada's democracy and Constitution rest.
Watch: Trudeau remembers Queen Elizabeth:
"Today the world is in a tough place," Trudeau said. "We're all reeling from an unprecedented global pandemic. [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's brutal and unjustifiable war is threatening global stability. Around the globe, democratic institutions are being challenged.
"But Canadians can rightly be proud of living in one of the strongest democracies in the world. Our institutions are healthy, our debates are robust … It is this very strength and stability, represented by the Crown and embodied by the Queen, that Canadians have always benefited from."
The day of tributes in the House began at 10 a.m. with a moment of silence to mark the recent murders in rural Saskatchewan. Speeches in the House began with the prime minister, followed by Official Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre.
"For roughly 70 years, she was our head of state but also a servant of the Canadian people," Poilievre told the House. "She was a model for all those who work for the public service to remind us that, for all the pomp and circumstance, the real work of governing is not glamorous.
"It often requires putting aside egos, keeping our heads down and keeping on with the job. Her humility reminded us that government is not about us, it is about those we serve. We are indeed servants and not masters."
Watch: Poilievre remembers Queen Elizabeth:
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