Hon. Duncan Wilson: Honourable senators, I rise with a heavy heart on behalf of the Progressive Senate Group to remember our friend and colleague the Honourable Senator Todd Lewis.

During his funeral service, we heard about the farming perspective that provided a compass for how Todd approached life. He would seed in the spring and combine in the fall. As he combined, he would think of what he would need to seed in the field the next spring. In this way, he was conditioned to always think of what was needed next.

I was able to see this perspective while working with him on the steering committee of the Transport and Communications Committee. Todd was instrumental in getting our supply chain labour report across the finish line in record time. He advocated for the importance of what we were studying and what it meant for the agricultural world that would benefit from the committee’s work. It was in this context that I encountered what stands out to me as his trademark line, “It’s just common sense.”

While Todd and I came to this place with very different backgrounds, we quickly became allies and, like with many of you, friends.

While we stood shoulder to shoulder on that committee, I had the distinct pleasure of seeing his common-sense approach on the Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources, when he gave parts of Bill S-4 — which I was sponsoring for the government — a very rough ride. Assurances from officials did not satisfy him as he fought for what he believed was right and in the best interests of Saskatchewan.

My favourite memory is from when the Transport Committee studied the high-speed rail project. Take a farmer from Saskatchewan and a port guy from British Columbia and ask them for their thoughts on the importance of a faster passenger train service between Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal; you can imagine our reaction. We locked eyes across the room and shared a good laugh.

Fittingly, Todd’s maiden speech was on the National Agricultural Soil Health Strategy. True to form, his first words in this chamber were, “Can you imagine a farmer talking about dirt?” He then immediately launched into a technical quote from the Senate Procedure in Practice manual. This was emblematic of Senator Lewis, a farmer at heart but also a fierce intellect who could attack complex issues with confidence and ease.

While Todd’s 538 days here were far too few and the void he left behind is much too big, he made an outsized impact on Saskatchewan and on Canada. His brother Rod said it best, “Todd opened up their farming world to the rest of the world.” We are all the better for it.

To his wife, Terry, and his daughter, Kim; to our CSG colleagues, his chosen Senate family; and to all who cared for Todd, the Progressive Senate Group sends our love, and we share your grief in mourning a friend and leader gone far too soon. Rest in peace, our dear friend.