During his remarks that special day, Mr. Turner demonstrated that his love and respect for Canada’s parliamentary heritage had not faltered.

“The greatest honour our fellow citizens can bestow upon a Canadian is election to this place, the House of Commons,” he said. “Parliament is the forum of our nation. It is not just a legislative machine, it is a place for drama, it is a place for debate, both here and in the Senate, where the main issues of the day should be debated and resolved.”

“And a Member of Parliament is at the basis of our system; the Member of the Parliament is the link between the people of his country,” he continued. “And so, I, say again, Mr. Speaker, give these Members a voice, let them speak their minds, let them speak their consciousness. And let them represent the interests of their constituents. One final word, I urge the members of the House, from all sides, to reclaim the dignity and independence that beget our system, after the Norman conquest, and with so much in evidence during the early years of our Confederation.”

Mr. Turner also paid special tribute to his family at the ceremony.

“My wife Geills is here,” he said. “She was always the best campaigner in the family, door to door, across the country, young people, old people -- the Prime Minister mentioned the North -- she was the unofficial photographer for the Inuit people, for years and years and they wanted her back at their annual reunions.

 And Geills is head of the family, and my four children who are here today, Elizabeth, Michael, David and Andrew, led as normal a life as possible, during those turbulent years, thanks to Geills. Although there was time to time moments that they could have done without, so far, the scars don’t show too deeply and they’re all living very successful lives and I’m very proud of them. And they shared the public experience with me.”

Mr. Turner passed into history in 2020.