The Late Honourable Ed Broadbent, P.C., C.C.
Inquiry--Debate Adjourned
February 8, 2024
Rose pursuant to notice of Senator LaBoucane-Benson on February 6, 2024:
That she will call the attention of the Senate to the life and career of the late Honourable Ed Broadbent, P.C.
He said: Honourable senators, as the Government Representative in the Senate, I rise today to pay tribute to a champion of social justice, a tireless supporter of democracy and an inspiration for a generation of those who followed. I’m speaking, of course, of the Honourable Ed Broadbent, who passed away on January 11 of this year.
When news of his death became public, accolades poured in from so many who worked alongside him and those who worked opposite him. It did not matter if Ed was your political foe. He was respected, admired and genuinely liked by all who knew him. He was a true politician in the best sense of the word. He promoted, argued and fought for the policies he believed in. But even if you didn’t agree with them, he never made it personal. He was a gentle man — but tough — and was dedicated to this country and to the causes he held in his heart throughout his life.
Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, one of Ed Broadbent’s chief political opponents in the 1980s, called him a “giant in the Canadian political scene.” He stated:
I consider him a great parliamentarian and a major contributor to Canadian progress during the decade or the decade and a half we were together. . . . And he was an extremely pleasant, delightful guy to know.
The Broadbent Institute, founded by Ed in 2011, is guided by the Broadbent Principles for Canadian Social Democracy:
. . . we believe all people have equal worth and equal rights, and that we all benefit from living in an increasingly equal society.
We are committed to realizing the promise of Canada as a diverse, just, and inclusive society. These values matter to us today and they matter to our future. . . .
These principles encapsulate all that he fought for during his long tenure in public service. The institute that bears his name will continue to promote these principles and instill them in the leaders of tomorrow.
As politicians and legislators, we have lessons to learn from his example. Ed Broadbent defended Canada and Canadians, often those on the margins of society. We, in the Senate, represent more than our regions. We also lend our voices to those who are often voiceless.
I will end with a quote from Premier Wab Kinew, who spoke at the memorial service that I had the honour of attending:
Mr. Broadbent’s smiling, joyful legacy is an example we ought to learn from today. That we can use good means to achieve good ends; that we don’t have to appeal to our darkest impulses; that we can have faith in our fellow Canadians. . . . Ed was a relentless force for good.
On behalf of the Senate and the Government of Canada, I extend our sympathies to his partner Frances Abele, his children Paul and Christine; his four grandchildren, Nicole, Gareth, Caitlin and Brett; his two great-grandchildren, Alice and Freya; and many close relatives and dear friends.
May he rest in peace.
Honourable senators, it is an honour to speak in tribute to a great Canadian, the Honourable Ed Broadbent. I will add to what Senator Gold said today and what Senator Frances Lankin spoke of a couple of days ago.
Mr. Broadbent served Canada with distinction as a Member of Parliament for Oshawa and then for Ottawa—Centre and, of course, served as the highly respected leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada for more than 14 years.
What was most important about Ed Broadbent and what makes him a true statesman is that he was a leader with clear principles which he spoke to strongly, but — and this is the important part — he did so respectfully at all times. While some people approach politics as a facile game to whip up anger and even hate, Broadbent focused on being respectful, disagreeing without being disagreeable — sadly, an art we are losing in politics.
I want to focus my comments on his tremendous legacy in the Broadbent Institute.
Colleagues, you may know that I served as president of a think tank, the Pearson Centre, for a decade before coming to the Senate. While we were in some ways competitors — the Pearson Centre and the Broadbent Institute — in true NDP fashion, they were cooperators, and we became fellow travellers on the road of think tanks, always in search of good public policy that could improve the lives of Canadians and make the world a better place.
I want to quote a bit from the principles of the Broadbent Institute which, if you will allow me to put it this way, speaks to the future of Ed Broadbent’s politics. I had a longer piece, but Senator Gold stole half my speech. I will quote what he left me. We obviously have the same taste in picking out the brilliance of Mr. Broadbent and his institute.
The institute said:
All people have equal worth and equal rights — and all benefit from living in an increasingly equal society. To achieve this in a country with a market-based economy requires an ongoing process of decommodification, a process that sees important social and economic benefits taken out of the market and transformed into universal rights, —
— that might sound a bit scary, but this is what they were talking about —
— such as in health services, education, social welfare and housing.
Indeed, how we do these very issues are being discussed and sometimes challenged right now these days.
It goes on to say, “This means an essential and robust role for governments at all levels in the provision of public goods.”
Having come from the field of think tanks, I have a strong belief that independent think tanks are good for better public policy in Canada. What Ed Broadbent did was to create a vibrant organization that focuses on new and innovative policy while it also trains activists to work to further the ideas of a just and equitable society.
Colleagues, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said recently, Canada is better off because of the life and contribution of Ed Broadbent. I could not agree more.
To his family and friends, I say we share in your grief, but we celebrate with deep gratitude the life of a great Canadian whom we have all benefited from.
Thank you.
