Quotes about late Senate Speaker Pierre Claude Nolin

MONTREAL – A funeral was held in Montreal on Thursday for late Senate Speaker Pierre Claude Nolin. Here are some quotes from various people before and after the service:

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard:

“A great Quebecer and a great Canadian who was active on the federal scene but showed a lot of courage (and) dedication to his roots in Quebec. But courage also (by) not being afraid of taking positions that (went against) his party, particularly on marijuana.”

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Commons Speaker Andrew Scheer:

“He had a big personality and although we only worked together as Speakers for a short period of time due to his illness, I could tell right away he had a real passion for Parliament. He loved the institution … and he really brought a great perspective to our dealings with each other.”

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Senator Serge Joyal:

“He is of the generation that stood for Canada. He was representing the Tory party and I was representing the Liberal Party of Canada, so we got the experience of working together for broader objectives than our partisan interests. He was a man who realized that in Canada, if you want achieve greater objectives, you have to go beyond the party line that divides and, I would say, paralyzes people.”

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Ex-Quebec premier Lucien Bouchard:

“He was an open-minded man, absolutely no meanness in him. He was fighting the good fight, but in the right way, always on the high road.”

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Former Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe:

“I think he was a real gentleman. I knew him since we were in college in the 1960s and we played football together and we stayed friends all those years, even if we had very different ideas about the future of Quebec.”

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Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre:

“He was a bridge-builder, he was very progressive… a true Tory, a red Tory and I think he was going above partisanship all the time. He was always there to bring people together and focus on the issues, not on the individual.”

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Senator Jacques Demers:

“He had a vision, a positive vision, not only for himself but for the Senate entirely and. unfortunately, we lost him so early. I believe with the respect that he had, his vision and his plan to reform the Senate is going to be followed through.”

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Former prime minister Brian Mulroney:

“He was a marvellous friend and a great Quebecer and an authentic Quebecer who loved Canada very deeply and served it extremely well at all times.”