Senator Yuen Pau Woo

Honourable senators, I only found out a few minutes ago that I had a spot to pay tribute to the Honourable Senator Nancy Hartling. As a result, I will move that we delay her retirement by two to five years, maybe.

Of course, unfortunately, we cannot pass a unanimous motion of that sort, but I don’t think we need to have a show of hands or a standing vote to understand that there is unanimous support for the sorrow we feel at missing a beloved and cherished colleague such as Nancy Hartling.

As you have already heard, I was part of the “Class of 2016,” and you have probably noticed that a number of us from that class have paid tribute to Nancy. That is, in part, because she has been the glue that brought our “Class of 2016” together, year after year, to celebrate the anniversary of our appointment to the Senate.

I would say, though, that she is also a member of the cabal that enticed me to go to a Burmese restaurant and plied me with beer until I forgot that I had agreed to become a facilitator for the Independent Senators Group, or ISG.

You may not think of Senator Hartling as the sort of person who goes around plying people with beer, but I recently learned from one of her News from the Red Chamber newsletters that she was with her husband in Dublin going on what is called the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl. Now, I don’t know if it was primarily on the literary side or the pub side, but I suspect it was a bit of both.

Speaking of her newsletter News from the Red Chamber, I don’t know if you have had a chance to look at it. There is something retro about it — a newsletter talking about the work of our institution — but it is consistently uplifting, consistently non‑partisan and consistently about how she loves this institution. It is so refreshing to receive a newsletter like that, month after month.

Nancy, you have been a cherished colleague to all of us, but you have also been a very good friend to me. You have been at my side, supporting me during challenging times for me and my family. I want to thank you for that.

You did that, not as a social worker — and you certainly have all of those skills — but as a friend.

To your family who are here — Don, your children and grandchildren — I want to thank you for letting us have your beloved wife, mother and grandmother for eight years.

Knowing what we know about her now — how wonderful she is — I am astonished that you allowed her to come here and spend eight years with us, but you can have her back now. We thank you from the depths of our hearts.

Nancy, I wish you a happy retirement. As Senator Boniface said, we’re not done with you. We look forward to keeping in touch, and wish you a very happy and healthy retirement.