Very rarely, if ever, do I remember ever feeling so sad about a politician dying. But Chuck was an example to us all. I won't eulogize him here. There are many sites that will be able to do that better than I.
He was a man of principle and integrity. He didn't bow to public pressure. He wasn't born to politics but went to it after his son was brutally murdered in 1992.
For a snippet of who he was, read this interview.
In one part, he noted:
I said if you consider me the worst dressed person because I happen to wander out here looking the way most the people in my constituency look, I'm not apologizing for that. I do own a suit and there are times I have to wear one, but I spent my whole life going to work in my jeans and my sleeves rolled up and just because I got this job didn't change that. The last time I checked it was called the House of Commons because it was where the representatives of the common people are. And if I happen to look like them, I don't apologize for that.
It is just so unfortunate that the last months of his life had to be so burdened by our political woes and that he was not able to spend it in tranquility.
Hopefully his legacy will allow other likeminded individuals to take up his torch and to stand up for a better country.
He leaves a deep void in this country, and he will be missed.
May he be in peace now, and reunited with Jesse. His family will be in my prayers tonight.
