I met Neil Collishaw in the 1980’s when he and I worked at Health & Welfare at Tunney’s Pasture in Ottawa. We were both members of ESSA (Economists, Statisticians & Sociologists Association – our public service union) and I was active in ESSA’s activities both in the Health & Welfare local and on the national executive. Neil already had a strong profile in non-smoking in the workplace policy development, and he helped push ESSA into lobbying the employer (the federal government) into bringing this policy into being, which occurred in the federal government later in the ’80’s.

Neil went on to WHO (the World Health Organization) and I left Health & Welfare when I was elected to Ottawa City Council in 1991. Our paths crossed again in early 2000’s when I was elected to the newly-amalgamated Ottawa City Council and we began developing a City-wide no-smoking ban in restaurants and bars. This was quite controversial at the time. Neil provided both expertise and moral support for our cause and we got the ban in place after learning from the City of Toronto’s mistakes (Toronto tried to institute their ban in January, which failed due to public resistance then (standing outside in the cold was a factor). We instituted ours in September, which, by the time winter came, had been accepted by the population).

I next encountered Neil and his family through Theresa Kavanagh, who I knew initially through the NDP. Her son Patrick Snider was engaged to Neil’s daughter Laura (they were high school sweethearts) and Theresa was already close to the Collishaws. Theresa and I attended Patrick and Laura’s wedding at the Collishaw cottage on Lake Farren in 2009. A few months later we were married and the Collishaws attended our wedding.

Over the years since we enjoyed dinners and events with Neil and Barb, including visits to the cottage at Farren Lake. Neil, a gregarious person, followed local politics and supported both my and later Theresa’s municipal campaigns, as did Barb. We also learned that Barb was a sharp Scrabble player(!). Neil was always good company and interested in the world around him. I will miss him.