SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — The Honourable Percy Mockler

Let me begin by congratulating our colleague, David Adams Richards, and Acadian filmmaker Monique LeBlanc on her remarkable documentary.

Honourable senators, on the occasion of Francophonie Month, I’m honoured to pay tribute to a colleague who, unfortunately, will be leaving us in a few weeks. I would like to thank the Conservative caucus for giving me the opportunity to speak this morning.

The great Percy Mockler was born in 1949 in the small town of Saint-Léonard, in northwestern New Brunswick’s independent Republic of Madawaska, just weeks after Newfoundland entered Confederation.

According to a legend that has been circulating in Acadia since his birth, the day little Percy took his first steps, he fell into a bucket of blue paint. There’s a song that goes, “The sky is blue, awake! A new day dawns,” and, from that moment on, the young man grabbed life by the horns with such passion and determination that he soon became a hugely influential leader in his region and our province.

The Honourable Percy Mockler was elected to the provincial legislative assembly in 1982 and went on to hold just about every possible cabinet portfolio. He served as Solicitor General, Minister for Human Resources Development and Housing, Minister of Family and Community Services, Minister of Transportation, Minister of Intergovernmental and International Relations and Minister responsible for La Francophonie. I first met the Honourable Percy Mockler when he was the Minister of Wellness, Culture and Sport.

Colleagues, his office was a beehive of activity, a gathering place for Acadian sports fans, artists, entrepreneurs, activists and advocates. The big screen TVs in his office, with the volume on full blast, did justice to our national sport.

In between phone calls, he would go in and out of his office with his usual energy. A devoted public servant once told me, “Don’t worry, it might not seem like it, but he’s listening to you.”

She was right. Percy Mockler was always attentive and very attuned to the world of arts and culture. His love of Acadia and his unwavering public commitment were unmistakable. As the most Acadian of all Brayons — and the most Brayon of all Acadians — he was, and remains, a consummate politician to the people of New Brunswick, Acadia and Canada.

His appointment to the Senate by the Honourable Stephen Harper in 2008 came as no surprise. When I entered the upper chamber in 2016, Percy was extremely generous to me. The can of paint I fell into at birth was rainbow-coloured, and so I wasn’t sure what kind of reception I would get in this place.

Well, Percy soon reassured me when he told me that a blue sky and a rainbow are a great combination.

Percy’s deep compassion and humility were moving, as always. He is a true gentleman. At the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages, he provided unfailing support during the study of Bill C-13, seeking to amend the Official Languages Act. As Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance, his sense of fairness and his diligence were always appreciated by his colleagues.

Senator Mockler, dear Percy, words are not enough to thank you for your contribution to Acadia, to our province and to our country. To say that we will miss you is an understatement. I have no doubt that the sky will continue to be blue and the sun will shine for you and your wife, Suzanne, your children and your loved ones. See you soon, dear colleague and friend. I look forward to seeing you under the blue sky and all the colours of the rainbow back home in Acadia.

Thank you.