Tory MP Jim Hillyer dies in his downtown office
A day that normally would have seen parliamentarians pulling out their sharpest partisan darts was instead replaced Wednesday by a rare coming-together of MPs after the sudden death of Alberta Conservative MP Jim Hillyer.
The 41-year-old died in his office after returning to Ottawa this week following surgery to treat a persistent leg infection.
He came back for the Liberal budget on Tuesday, but what should have been the first day of debate on it instead was deferred to honour Hillyer’s life and work.
Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose wiped away tears as she rose, referring to Hillyer as a colleague and friend with a goofy sense of humour who used his determination to champion causes that included cancer advocacy and justice system reform.
“When you talked to Jim, it was like talking to a neighbour. It was clear he loved his life, he loved his community and he loved his job.”
She described him as a dedicated husband and father and a man of strong faith and conviction.
A bouquet of red roses sat on his desk in the chamber Wednesday as leaders rose to pay tribute.
Among those who admitted to not knowing him well was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom Hillyer once called “Pierre Trudeau’s pompous parliamentary prince.”
Trudeau said Wednesday there was a lesson to be learned from Hillyer’s death — that MPs should spend more time getting to know one another.
“If today’s tragic experience, which we all share, having lost a member of the family, is to have any positive outcome, let it be that we do take a little more time in the occasions afforded to us, hockey rinks or soccer fields, after work in the watering holes around Ottawa, that we do take a little time to get to know each other a little more because we are bound together, all of us in service to this great country,” he said.
Hillyer suffered a broken leg in a skiing accident in 2013 and took three weeks off for surgery and rehabilitation.
But he was plagued with infections that required subsequent surgeries.
He often walked with a cane and some were surprised to see him back on the Hill this week after his latest hospital stay.
“He always fought and overcame those struggles,” said fellow Conservative MP James Bezan.
Bezan said Hillyer had been in good spirits upon his return.
“We always have to keep in the back of our mind our days are numbered and we don’t know when our number is up,” Bezan said.
The death cast a pall over the Commons proceedings and leaders agreed to adjourn the sitting as soon as leaders’ tributes were done.
Hillyer was first elected to the House of Commons in 2011 for the Lethbridge riding in a campaign where he avoided interviews and was nicknamed “the man who wasn’t there.”
“But he won the seat easily and was re-elected in a landslide last fall in the new riding of Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner.
When you talked to Jim, it was like talking to a neighbour. It was clear he loved his life ... and he loved his job.
Hillyer was a cancer survivor and had a bone-marrow transplant in 2003.
He leaves a wife and four children.
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said the parliamentary family was also mourning.
“Jim leaves behind a loving family, a legacy of hard-working public service and a profound commitment to his faith,” Mulcair said.
“These are qualities that will define his memory in this place.”
Following are excerpts from remarks in the House of Commons Wednesday by Canada’s political leaders on the sudden death of Jim Hillyer, 41, MP for the Alberta riding of Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner. Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose:
Before being elected, Jim was an entrepreneur. Like so many westerners, he was very proud to make a living in the natural resources sector.
He was very open, very honest, a very humble guy, and he had a goofy sense of humour. ... He had something funny that he had said in the media recently. He was from southern Alberta. That says something about him. He was talking about Donald Trump. He had been asked about his views on Donald Trump. He said, “Where I come from is redneck, and we’re not that redneck.” He was a funny guy.
He was also a fighter. Many people here may not know that he had faced and beaten leukemia earlier in his life, and he sought to help others by becoming a spokesman for the Canadian Cancer Society.
A lot of us here know that he had a very serious ski accident. After his ski accident he had to use a little scooter because he had hurt his leg quite badly. It was the kind of scooter that senior citizens use. However, he was only 41, so we teased him a lot about that.
Here in Ottawa, he fought for a stronger justice system, he sponsored some tough-on-crime legislation, and he was really passionate about keeping his community safe and respecting the rights of victims.
At home, he was a very devoted dad. He was also a music lover. I did not know this myself, because it did not fit my view of Jim, but he was an amazing violin player and he played in the Lethbridge Symphony, and was even a singer.
Some members may not have had a chance to know Jim because they are new to the House. That is okay. Their thoughts and prayers mean just as much to his family, and I thank them for their support on their behalf. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:
This is a moment when we should all reflect on the fact that we do not know each other as well as we should in the House. We learn of each other through comments made in the media, through speeches that we give or have to give in the House, but we do not often actually dig into the lives and stories that each and every one of us brings to this place.
If today’s tragic experience, which we all share, having lost a member of the family, is to have any positive outcomes, let it be that we take a little more time on the occasions afforded to us ... to get to know each other a little more, because we are bound together, all of us, in service to this great country. NDP Leader Tom Mulcair:
Jim ... helped the people of his riding so well that his office was even honoured with an award for exemplary service, and his remarks about that work are a tribute to his conviction that people matter. Politics, Jim said, can really be about making the world a better place.
He was also given an indigenous name by the Blackfoot Canadian Cultural Society: Api Stamiik. It means “white buffalo bull,” and was given to him for his strong work with First Nations.
Jim leaves behind a loving family, a legacy of hard-working public service, and a profound commitment to his faith. These are qualities that will define his memory in this place.