Honourable senators, we lost a great Canadian, a philanthropist, business leader and pioneer of Vancouver’s Chinese community, namely, Robert Horne Lee. Robert Lee was born in Vancouver on June 25, 1933, the sixth of seven children born to Ron Bick Lee and his wife King Choon. He spent his formative years in Vancouver’s Chinatown. Senators, you will note that in 1933, the Chinese in Canada were deemed alien, not Canadian citizens, even if they were born in Canada.

This would change after World War II, in 1947, thanks to Canadian-born Chinese heroes like Douglas Jung, who went to war for Canada and became the first Chinese Canadian member of Parliament and who fought for the rights of all Asians across Canada to be Canadian citizens.

From humble beginnings, Robert Lee became a respected leader in the Vancouver business community, building companies such as Wall Financial and Prospero Realty. He was a generous philanthropist, supporting many projects and activities of the Chinese community in Metro Vancouver and other deserving causes, as evidenced by one such project, the Robert Lee YMCA Centre in downtown Vancouver.

Equally impressive was his support of the University of British Columbia, as a proud alumnus. He was Governor and later Chancellor of UBC and chairman of the UBC Foundation. His tremendous legacy is the UBC Properties Trust, which will secure UBC’s future in the form of a $1.7 billion endowment, expected to grow to $4 billion. Former UBC President Martha Piper called him “Mr. UBC, the university’s BFF.” I, too, am a proud UBC alumna and honoured to be associated with Robert Lee and our alma mater.

His business leadership and commitment to community service have been recognized at the highest levels. He was awarded the Order of British Columbia, as well as the Order of Canada.

Honourable senators, the late Bob Lee leaves a great legacy of entrepreneurial success and philanthropy. He will be long remembered as we gather in the state-of-the-art architectural space of the Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre and by Sauder students who enroll in the Robert H. Lee Graduate School he inspired.

The late Robert Lee is a pioneer in the truest sense of the word. He dismantled barriers, achieved success in business, earned much respect through philanthropy and left a great legacy.

Honourable senators, please join me in remembering a model Canadian and expressing our sincere condolences to his beloved wife, Lily, and children Carol, Leslie, Derek and Graham.