Tribute to the Late Honourable Hugh Segal, C.M.

Honourable senators, I am honoured as a colleague and heartbroken as a friend to stand today to pay tribute to the Honourable Hugh Segal.

Ours was a friendship first forged some 40 years ago in the wee small hours of the morning, within the intimate surroundings of a national television studio — every Thursday morning — on Canada AM. Hugh was loved across this country, and across party lines, for his sharp political wit, his analytical precision and his heart. As his friend Liberal Tom Axworthy said, “. . . you were never with him without leaving with a smile on your face and hope in your heart.”

And as Bill Fox, his longtime Conservative friend, put it:

When there was disagreement or debate, that — for Hugh — was simply the starting point for a conversation and the search for compromise.

He believed government must offer freedom from want, as well as freedom from fear — the reason for his commitment to a guaranteed basic income.

He believed in the Tory idea of nation and enterprise — good governance was to be found at the intersection of market freedom and public interest.

He mourned the loss of civility, and was troubled by politicians and the media acting as merchants of polarity — which were his words — undermining hope and optimism.

Hugh was a student of history, and a believer in the Commonwealth, in the monarchy and, most powerfully, in the men and women of the military, whose sacrifice granted and preserved our freedoms.

Winston Churchill, whom Hugh admired, once said, “Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.”

Hugh lived a courageous life, from very humble beginnings: His sense of generosity was first learned from his mother who gave away his most prized possession — a simple wooden box — to a neighbour in order to stoke the fire to help keep her child warm.

Hugh always cheered for the underdog — not because they were, but because of why they were.

Today, my thoughts turn to his most passionate battle here in this chamber. He gave voice to those of us who had been silenced. He pleaded with his party’s leadership not to expel three senators without due process, and he did so not because he was my friend — though he most certainly was — but because he believed in fundamental rights.

In his farewell speech, he reminded senators of what our role here is. He said:

. . . above all, to champion the central and indisputable importance of rule of law, due process, presumption of innocence as cornerstones of our democratic way of life, whatever dark forces . . . impose upon us.

Hugh believed not just in the rule of law, but in justice. He was the truest of public servants, an engaged citizen and he was indeed that happy warrior for the causes that truly mattered. There was no better human being, and I am comforted knowing his legacy will live in all of us who had the privilege of his friendship.