Honourable senators, I rise today from the traditional territory of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council to give thanks on behalf of Yukoners and Canadians for the lifetime of public service by Jack Cable.

Jack was born on August 17, 1934, the date of the discovery of gold in the Yukon. Jack earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at the University of Toronto, a master’s degree in business administration from McMaster University and a law degree from Western University. Called to both the Ontario and Yukon bar, he moved his family to the Yukon in 1970, practising with others and founding a well-recognized, distinguished law firm.

Jack served as president of Yukon Energy, the Yukon Development Corporation, a director of the Northern Canada Power Commission, or NCPC, president of the Whitehorse and Yukon chambers of commerce and director of the Yukon Science Institute. He helped found the Recycle Organics Together Society, or ROTS, and the Boreal Alternate Energy Centre. The list of Jack’s involvements goes on and on.

Honourable senators, Jack Cable was Sue Edelman’s dad — my sister Girl Guide, fellow swim club mom and colleague in the Yukon Legislative Assembly. My most vivid memories of Jack, however, are serving with Jack and Sue as my colleagues in the Yukon Legislative Assembly, a father-daughter team elected to the Yukon legislature.

Jack, Sue and I served as three members of the Third Party in the Yukon Legislative Assembly. Three members of the Yukon Party, all men, were designated as the official opposition in that session, despite Jack’s very well-reasoned argument presented to the Speaker and the clerk.

Sue and I, as new MLAs, learned a great deal from Jack. Our preparations for Question Period are one of my very fond memories. Sue and I would leave our meeting thinking our questions were well prepared. Dear Jack would most often return from a perhaps coincidental encounter in the hallways with one of the members of the Yukon Party.

After these coincidental encounters, the well-crafted questions by Sue and I would often be redeveloped or fine-tuned with advice that Jack had gained from new information from these coincidental encounters. Jack would say, “We are ad idem on this, are we not?”

Jack served as the member for Riverside from 1992 until 2000. Upon his retirement from elected office, he served as the Commissioner of Yukon, the territory’s equivalent to a lieutenant-governor, until 2005, whereupon he retired to farm root crops and Christmas trees. Proceeds from the sale of the Christmas trees benefited the Braeburn Lake summer camp.

Jack gifts to the Yukon were environmentally sound and powerful. He was also a mentor — training, guiding, cajoling and leading more than one politician in our territory.

Whether you are conversing in Latin ad idem — of the same mind — or not, there is agreement. The legacy of Jack Cable lives on in his tremendous contributions to the people of the Yukon. We honour him and thank his extended family and friends and his wife, Faye, for sharing his leadership and commitment and, most especially, Jack for leaving our Yukon, and Canada, a better place.

Thank you, mahsi’cho.