Hon. Rodger Cuzner: Honourable senators, it has been almost two months since the passing of Ken Dryden, and in light of the beautiful and poignant tributes paid to him in this chamber, I didn’t feel the need to offer another reflection.

I know Ken would have appreciated the kindness of these tributes, although having lived such an accomplished life with a genuine sense of modesty, he’d do so with an awkward discomfort.

But having served seven years with Ken in the other place and having continued a friendship post-politics, I got a pretty good sense of what he meant to this country and what this country meant to him.

Now, make no mistake; the guy wasn’t perfect. I could think of no one more capable of turning a sentence into a paragraph than Ken Dryden, who would then turn that paragraph into a bestselling book. But one of his many gifts was his undeniable ability to listen to Canadians, to understand their perspectives and to engage on issues they cared about deeply. His knack for capturing and articulating the core values of Canadians was profound.

Over the last number of years, we’d chat. After his obligatory torturing of me because of my lifelong affection for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the conversation would turn to politics and, most notably, the unravelling of democracy south of the border. He would express great concern about the diminishing trust in long-respected institutions, about the preponderance of mis- and disinformation and the reality of citizens choosing sides not based on policy but rather on identity. It troubled him that too often chippy sound bites and slogans replaced truthful dialogue.

He also believed that, as Canadians, we should not be smug or complacent, because he felt that the far-right voices would continue to chip away at what we here in Canada view as appropriate political discourse, thus compromising the tone and tenor of our debate.

I am certain he would have shared the wave of concern that rippled across the country with remarks made recently about the integrity and independence of the RCMP. He believed that Canadians expected their leaders to preserve and protect our institutions, not to tear them down.

Anybody who knew Ken knew he loved to take a shot or a jab at you. Typically, this happened near the end of a conversation. It would be something like, “Cuzner, I know you’re not capable of doing that much, but at least do what you can do.”

Senators, my statement today is doing what I can do to honour Ken Dryden by speaking against salacious and egregious discourse and to encourage each and every one of us to do the same.

Ken Dryden loved this country, and this country loved him right back. He was an iconic Canadian, a great man and a good friend.