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MP tributes flow in the Commons for former finance minister Jim Flaherty

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Flowers and a card of sympathy are placed in honour of former Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on a desk in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, April 11, 2014. Flaherty died suddenly Thursday of an apparent heart attack. He was 64. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand

OTTAWA – Tributes are flowing today in the House of Commons for former finance minister Jim Flaherty, who died suddenly Thursday.

Labour Minister Kellie Leitch, a medical doctor who was close to Flaherty, was the first to speak.

She recalled how Flaherty got her into politics by relentlessly calling her until she finally relented and decided to run for office.

Leitch called Flaherty’s legacy immense and lauded his policy initiatives, including the registered disability savings plan and the tax-free savings account.

A card rested on a table in the Commons, which read: “You are and will always be missed and remembered.”

Flaherty, who stepped down as finance minister only a month ago, had been battling a rare and painful skin disorder for more than a year but insisted after delivering his Feb. 11 budget that he was on the mend.

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The Canadian Press

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