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Veteran Ottawa-Vanier Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger was remembered Saturday as a man of the people who inspired hope in those who’d lost faith in politics.
As the Canadian flag flew at half-mast at City Hall and on the Peace Tower, approximately 1,200 mourners made their way into the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica to bid a final adieu to the popular parliamentarian.
Canada's flag is flying at half-mast on the Peace Tower in Ottawa to remember Liberal MP @Mauril_Belanger #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/ezX3otgh0V
— Susana Mas (@susanamas) August 27, 2016
Bélanger died Aug. 15 at the age of 61 after a difficult battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
“I’m feeling a sense of grief but also some satisfaction in knowing that I was able to pay my final respects,” said Leocadie Kabogoye, who came to thank a man she said was a champion of immigrants in Ottawa.
Kabogoye, who works as a settlement agent helping francophone immigrants, said it was not uncommon for Bélanger to “come to the rescue” of newcomers seeking help from their local MP.
“He did everything in his power to help them find a solution,” she said.
Ontario Sen. Jim Munson, who was on a parliamentary visit to Africa with Bélanger earlier this year, described his friend and colleague as “a man of action.”
“I think we should remember him as the man from Mattawa who grew up in Ottawa, who just knew what was right to do.”
“You saw that when he was in Africa, when he was on the streets of Vanier-Ottawa. He cared about the common man, the common person.”
Bélanger was engaged with a number of human rights issues including the deportation of citizens to Burundi, a country with ongoing security concerns.
“I can say without pause that Bélanger saved lives,” said Charles Makaza, a resident of Hull-Aylmer and a spokesperson for the Alliance of Burundis in Canada.
Bélanger, who represented the citizens of Ottawa-Vanier, was also a staunch defender of national unity and Francophone rights.
Some 20 years ago, he saved Ottawa’s French-language Montfort Hospital — a victory his constituents never forgot.
“At a time when we barely won a referendum in 1995, there was Bélanger… fighting the fight to keep a hospital, a French-speaking hospital, the pride of Francophone Ontario, alive,” Munson said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a personal eulogy for his “true friend” whose legacy, he said, would stand the test of time.
WATCH as PM @JustinTrudeau remembers @Mauril_Belanger as "a true friend" #cdnpoli #ottnews pic.twitter.com/sCvnXRQIOf
— Susana Mas (@susanamas) August 27, 2016
Bélanger offered “some great lessons of integrity and humility and grace,” Sophie Grégoire Trudeau said prior to the funeral service.
While the progressive brain disease prevented Bélanger from speaking in the final months of his life, it did not silence him.
Bélanger used a text-to-voice program on a computer tablet to speak in the House of Commons where he championed a bill to make Canada’s national anthem more gender neutral.
His private member’s bill, which is expected to pass Parliament later this fall, will see the lyrics of ‘O Canada’ changed from “In all thy sons command” to “In all of us command.”
His funeral ended with mourners singing the “new version” of the anthem.
查看原文...
As the Canadian flag flew at half-mast at City Hall and on the Peace Tower, approximately 1,200 mourners made their way into the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica to bid a final adieu to the popular parliamentarian.
Canada's flag is flying at half-mast on the Peace Tower in Ottawa to remember Liberal MP @Mauril_Belanger #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/ezX3otgh0V
— Susana Mas (@susanamas) August 27, 2016
Bélanger died Aug. 15 at the age of 61 after a difficult battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
“I’m feeling a sense of grief but also some satisfaction in knowing that I was able to pay my final respects,” said Leocadie Kabogoye, who came to thank a man she said was a champion of immigrants in Ottawa.
Kabogoye, who works as a settlement agent helping francophone immigrants, said it was not uncommon for Bélanger to “come to the rescue” of newcomers seeking help from their local MP.
“He did everything in his power to help them find a solution,” she said.
Ontario Sen. Jim Munson, who was on a parliamentary visit to Africa with Bélanger earlier this year, described his friend and colleague as “a man of action.”
“I think we should remember him as the man from Mattawa who grew up in Ottawa, who just knew what was right to do.”
“You saw that when he was in Africa, when he was on the streets of Vanier-Ottawa. He cared about the common man, the common person.”
Bélanger was engaged with a number of human rights issues including the deportation of citizens to Burundi, a country with ongoing security concerns.
“I can say without pause that Bélanger saved lives,” said Charles Makaza, a resident of Hull-Aylmer and a spokesperson for the Alliance of Burundis in Canada.
Bélanger, who represented the citizens of Ottawa-Vanier, was also a staunch defender of national unity and Francophone rights.
Some 20 years ago, he saved Ottawa’s French-language Montfort Hospital — a victory his constituents never forgot.
“At a time when we barely won a referendum in 1995, there was Bélanger… fighting the fight to keep a hospital, a French-speaking hospital, the pride of Francophone Ontario, alive,” Munson said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a personal eulogy for his “true friend” whose legacy, he said, would stand the test of time.
WATCH as PM @JustinTrudeau remembers @Mauril_Belanger as "a true friend" #cdnpoli #ottnews pic.twitter.com/sCvnXRQIOf
— Susana Mas (@susanamas) August 27, 2016
Bélanger offered “some great lessons of integrity and humility and grace,” Sophie Grégoire Trudeau said prior to the funeral service.
While the progressive brain disease prevented Bélanger from speaking in the final months of his life, it did not silence him.
Bélanger used a text-to-voice program on a computer tablet to speak in the House of Commons where he championed a bill to make Canada’s national anthem more gender neutral.
His private member’s bill, which is expected to pass Parliament later this fall, will see the lyrics of ‘O Canada’ changed from “In all thy sons command” to “In all of us command.”
His funeral ended with mourners singing the “new version” of the anthem.
查看原文...
