SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — The Late Stephen Lewis, C.C.

Honourable senators, I rise today with a heavy yet full heart to honour Stephen Lewis, my friend, my hero — a hero to many Canadians, to many worldwide — a man whose own enormous heart, selfless vision for humanity, brilliant mind, persuasive tongue, dogged commitment, extraordinary efforts and personal sacrifice moved mountains and moved millions to move mountains with him.

As a member of the board of the Stephen Lewis Foundation in its early days, I was able to work shoulder to shoulder with Stephen and his daughter Ilana as they built an effective organization dedicated to responding to the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa. He went on to co-found AIDS-Free World.

Before these roles, Stephen led the Ontario NDP. He was part of the celebrated political panel of Lewis, Kierans and Camp on Peter Gzowski’s “Morningside” CBC Radio show.

Prime Minister Brian Mulroney appointed him Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations, and he played a leadership role in the fight against apartheid in South Africa.

Stephen served as the deputy executive director of UNICEF. He was a special adviser on African affairs to the UN Secretary-General. He was appointed by the Organization of African Unity, or OAU, to a panel investigating the Rwanda genocide.

Stephen served as UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, and from there he just kept going.

Prime Minister Carney called Stephen Lewis a pillar of compassionate leadership in Canadian democracy and a renowned global champion for human rights and multilateralism — important in today’s world more than ever.

Idah Mukuka of Zambia, a friend and colleague of Stephen and me, told me recently, “I was lucky to have known Stephen Lewis, a man that not only saved our lives but gave us life empowerment.”

Dwayne MacEachern, my friend in Judique, Cape Breton, said that Stephen’s

 . . . passionate oration resonated with common sense and human decency. He had an aptitude for bringing the plight of the human condition to the forefront of civil discourse.

Stephen Lewis passed away on the last day of March, having hung on by sheer will to witness his son, Avi, win the NDP leadership.

Honourable senators, please join me in expressing our condolences and gratitude to Stephen’s wife, Michele Landsberg, and children, Ilana, Avi and Jenny.

Colleagues, as I told Globe journalist Erin Anderssen, Stephen had such faith in humanity, and the lesson he leaves us with in these difficult times is this: Be daring, step up, make something good happen and, most importantly, bring others along with you.

That is what Stephen did.