Ottawa-Vanier MP Mauril Bélanger dies at age 61
By Blair Crawford
First posted: Tuesday, August 16, 2016 10:01 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, August 16, 2016 11:47 PM EDT
Mauril Bélanger, the longtime Liberal MP for Ottawa-Vanier, has died, just nine months after being diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis — Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
Bélanger, 61 and a married father of three, died before he had a chance to see his final bill become law, an act to make O Canada gender neutral by replacing the words “all thy sons command” with “in all of us command.”
He had been a member of Parliament since 1995 and made history earlier this year when he became the first person to speak in the Commons using a computerized voice, having lost his own due to the ravages of ALS.
Bélanger was also the first person to be given the title of Honorary Speaker, presiding over the Question Period in March after he was forced to withdraw from the race for Speaker because of his illness.
The news of his passing broke over social media Tuesday night when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted: “Mauril Bélanger has passed away. He was a great friend, tireless MP and brave fighter. The entire Parliamentary family mourns his loss.”
Trudeau later released the following statement on the death of Bélanger.
• • •
Mauril Bélanger was born on June 15, 1955, in Mattawa, 300 km up the Ottawa River near North Bay. His parents were francophones who came from a small Quebec town near Rivière-du-Loup. He was just 13 when he was captivated by the glamour and glitz of the Trudeaumania wave of 1968.
Bélanger arrived in Ottawa in 1973 to study English literature at the University of Ottawa and was elected president of the student federation in 1978.
Bélanger was a dyed-in-the-wool Liberal all his life, serving as an aide to former federal MPs Jean-Luc Pepin and Don Boudria. But it was a chief of staff to former Regional Chairman Peter Clark that he earned his reputation as a backroom fixer who avoided the spotlight.
In 1994 he stood for the Liberal nomination in Ottawa-Vanier when its reigning MP, Jean-Robert Gauthier, was appointed to the Senate. The seat is as close to a lifetime appointment to government as there is in the House of Commons. It’s gone Liberal every elections since it was created in 1935 and has had just five MPs in that time. Bélanger easily claimed his seat in Parliament in a 1995 byelection win.
Bélanger’s first general election was a blowout victory: He defeated his closest challenger by 24,000 votes, and took 61.9 per cent of the ballots. He won the next six elections too, including another 24,000 vote win over a strong challenger — the NDP’s Emilie Taman — in last October’s Liberal sweep to power.
But Bélanger wasn’t himself during the 2015 campaign. At all-candidates meeting he fared poorly and repeatedly stumbled over his words. At the time, Bélanger dismissed it as the effects of a lingering cold and promised he would get checked by a doctor after the election.
It was on Nov. 27, less than six weeks after Justin Trudeau’s “sunny ways” majority win, that Bélanger got the devastating ALS diagnosis. Bélanger was afflicted with Bulbar ALS, a particularly cruel form of the disease that affects about one-third of sufferers and strikes first in the area of the brain that controls the head, face and neck.
The disease’s progression was swift, brutal and relentless. In December, Bélanger stood in the House of Commons to introduce for the second time a private member’s bill to change the anthem’s wording. Unable to speak on his own, he used a computer tablet to speak for him.
“Although my bill was defeated in the last Parliament, the drive to make O Canada more inclusive has been advanced,” Bélanger said through his computerized voice. “I look forward to engaging with my colleagues as we address this important matter once again. By the way, Mr. Speaker, it is 2016,” he said, riffing on Justin Trudeau’s “Because it’s 2015” line.
Bélanger had been considered a frontrunner to be elected Speaker of the House, but dropped out after receiving his diagnosis. When he led the Speaker’s parade to the Commons in March to take his place as ‘Honorary Occupant of the Chair,” the prime minister, MPs, friends and parliamentary staff lined the hallway to cheer as he made his way to the chamber, steadied by a walker. He gave a silent “thumbs up” to acknowledge the crowd before taking his place in the Speaker’s chair.
As they sang O Canada to begin the session, many MPs used Bélanger’s inclusive lyrics.
“You look great up there,” said interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose. “You have achieved in a very short period of time what many Speakers dream of — a well-behaved chamber.”
Just a few weeks later, Bélanger was admitted to the Montfort Hospital after suffering a serious downturn because or a drug interaction.
In June, when Bélanger appeared in the House for the final time during the third reading of his anthem bill, he was in a wheelchair and could only blink in acknowledgment of colleagues’ congratulations. Friends were shocked by his ashen appearance and steep decline.
Bélanger’s anthem bill, C-210, now is in the hands of the Senate, which debated it June 21, the last day the upper chamber sat before its summer break. It will be voted on in the fall, and if passed, will be sent for Royal Assent.
“Canada is all of us, not some of us,” Bélanger said on May 9, the last time he spoke in the House at the bill’s second reading.
“On the eve of the 150th anniversary of our federation, it is important that one of our most recognized and appreciated national symbols reflect the progress made by our country in terms of gender equality. This progress was slow and hard-won at times, and it marked our country’s history. It should be celebrated in our national anthem.”
Bélanger is survived by his wife, Catherine, and three children.
Ottawa-Vanier MP Mauril Bélanger dies at age 61 | Canada | News | Toronto Sun
By Blair Crawford
First posted: Tuesday, August 16, 2016 10:01 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, August 16, 2016 11:47 PM EDT
Mauril Bélanger, the longtime Liberal MP for Ottawa-Vanier, has died, just nine months after being diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis — Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
Bélanger, 61 and a married father of three, died before he had a chance to see his final bill become law, an act to make O Canada gender neutral by replacing the words “all thy sons command” with “in all of us command.”
He had been a member of Parliament since 1995 and made history earlier this year when he became the first person to speak in the Commons using a computerized voice, having lost his own due to the ravages of ALS.
Bélanger was also the first person to be given the title of Honorary Speaker, presiding over the Question Period in March after he was forced to withdraw from the race for Speaker because of his illness.
The news of his passing broke over social media Tuesday night when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted: “Mauril Bélanger has passed away. He was a great friend, tireless MP and brave fighter. The entire Parliamentary family mourns his loss.”
Trudeau later released the following statement on the death of Bélanger.
• • •
Mauril Bélanger was born on June 15, 1955, in Mattawa, 300 km up the Ottawa River near North Bay. His parents were francophones who came from a small Quebec town near Rivière-du-Loup. He was just 13 when he was captivated by the glamour and glitz of the Trudeaumania wave of 1968.
Bélanger arrived in Ottawa in 1973 to study English literature at the University of Ottawa and was elected president of the student federation in 1978.
Bélanger was a dyed-in-the-wool Liberal all his life, serving as an aide to former federal MPs Jean-Luc Pepin and Don Boudria. But it was a chief of staff to former Regional Chairman Peter Clark that he earned his reputation as a backroom fixer who avoided the spotlight.
In 1994 he stood for the Liberal nomination in Ottawa-Vanier when its reigning MP, Jean-Robert Gauthier, was appointed to the Senate. The seat is as close to a lifetime appointment to government as there is in the House of Commons. It’s gone Liberal every elections since it was created in 1935 and has had just five MPs in that time. Bélanger easily claimed his seat in Parliament in a 1995 byelection win.
Bélanger’s first general election was a blowout victory: He defeated his closest challenger by 24,000 votes, and took 61.9 per cent of the ballots. He won the next six elections too, including another 24,000 vote win over a strong challenger — the NDP’s Emilie Taman — in last October’s Liberal sweep to power.
But Bélanger wasn’t himself during the 2015 campaign. At all-candidates meeting he fared poorly and repeatedly stumbled over his words. At the time, Bélanger dismissed it as the effects of a lingering cold and promised he would get checked by a doctor after the election.
It was on Nov. 27, less than six weeks after Justin Trudeau’s “sunny ways” majority win, that Bélanger got the devastating ALS diagnosis. Bélanger was afflicted with Bulbar ALS, a particularly cruel form of the disease that affects about one-third of sufferers and strikes first in the area of the brain that controls the head, face and neck.
The disease’s progression was swift, brutal and relentless. In December, Bélanger stood in the House of Commons to introduce for the second time a private member’s bill to change the anthem’s wording. Unable to speak on his own, he used a computer tablet to speak for him.
“Although my bill was defeated in the last Parliament, the drive to make O Canada more inclusive has been advanced,” Bélanger said through his computerized voice. “I look forward to engaging with my colleagues as we address this important matter once again. By the way, Mr. Speaker, it is 2016,” he said, riffing on Justin Trudeau’s “Because it’s 2015” line.
Bélanger had been considered a frontrunner to be elected Speaker of the House, but dropped out after receiving his diagnosis. When he led the Speaker’s parade to the Commons in March to take his place as ‘Honorary Occupant of the Chair,” the prime minister, MPs, friends and parliamentary staff lined the hallway to cheer as he made his way to the chamber, steadied by a walker. He gave a silent “thumbs up” to acknowledge the crowd before taking his place in the Speaker’s chair.
As they sang O Canada to begin the session, many MPs used Bélanger’s inclusive lyrics.
“You look great up there,” said interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose. “You have achieved in a very short period of time what many Speakers dream of — a well-behaved chamber.”
Just a few weeks later, Bélanger was admitted to the Montfort Hospital after suffering a serious downturn because or a drug interaction.
In June, when Bélanger appeared in the House for the final time during the third reading of his anthem bill, he was in a wheelchair and could only blink in acknowledgment of colleagues’ congratulations. Friends were shocked by his ashen appearance and steep decline.
Bélanger’s anthem bill, C-210, now is in the hands of the Senate, which debated it June 21, the last day the upper chamber sat before its summer break. It will be voted on in the fall, and if passed, will be sent for Royal Assent.
“Canada is all of us, not some of us,” Bélanger said on May 9, the last time he spoke in the House at the bill’s second reading.
“On the eve of the 150th anniversary of our federation, it is important that one of our most recognized and appreciated national symbols reflect the progress made by our country in terms of gender equality. This progress was slow and hard-won at times, and it marked our country’s history. It should be celebrated in our national anthem.”
Bélanger is survived by his wife, Catherine, and three children.
Ottawa-Vanier MP Mauril Bélanger dies at age 61 | Canada | News | Toronto Sun