Hon. Duncan Wilson: Honourable senators, I rise today to pay tribute to a dear friend, trusted mentor and great Canadian, former deputy minister to the premier of B.C. Ken Dobell.
It was with a heavy heart that I learned of Ken’s passing late this summer. Ken left an indelible mark on Canada and especially British Columbia. With a distinguished career in public service, he was also a decorated student athlete at the University of British Columbia, or UBC. He then went on to complete graduate studies in the United Kingdom before returning home to Vancouver, where he would later serve as City Manager of the City of Vancouver and then as the first CEO of the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority.
It was while he served as City Manager of the City of Vancouver that I first met Ken. I was an idealistic, newly elected park commissioner, and to me, he was a giant. Yet his door was always open. I recall our early-morning breakfasts at a modest café near city hall, where his advice was clear, often blunt and always generous. As I’d leave, he’d say with a smile, “Godspeed, young man.”
That work ethic and candour defined him. As deputy minister to Premier Gordon Campbell, Ken oversaw 30,000 employees and drove major projects like the Asia–Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative, or APGCI. When Ken was at the helm, things got done.
Even after retiring, he continued to help. I once asked him to advise us on a thorny port project. After hearing our CEO’s plan, Ken replied to my boss with a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face, “Now why would you do a dumb thing like that?” That sparked a good-natured debate that led us to a solution. He left us again, with his trademark, “Godspeed, young man.”
Ken’s legacy is all around us: the E-Comm 9-1-1 centre, improvements in rapid transit, the Vancouver Convention Centre and planning for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. He also championed reconciliation, establishing a scholarship to support students, working to build bridges between Indigenous and local governments.
The last time I saw Ken, he was in his retirement home, still following the news, still frustrated that “stuff wasn’t getting done.” As I left, he offered me his usual refrain.
Ken would have hated me giving this tribute. But I offer it not only for him, but as a reminder of the many public servants who give so much of themselves to make our communities, provinces and country better and stronger. Ken was a role model for them as he was for me.
So, colleagues, I ask you to join me in celebrating Ken Dobell: a life well lived and a legacy that will endure. Ken, may you finally take some time off. Godspeed, my friend. Thank you.
Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.