Former Member of Parliament Robert "Bob" Sopuck was known as a tireless advocate for rural communities and a valued friend and mentor. he passed away on Wednesday, October 23, at his residence near Sandy Lake.
Sopuck served as MP for Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa from 2010 to 2019, in representation of rural Manitobans with dedication and
Portage-Lisgar MP Branden Leslie was given the privilege Monday in the House of Commons to honour the man whom he called his former boss, mentor, and friend.
"I thank all my colleagues for allowing the indulgence and honouring this great Canadian the former Member of Parliament for Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa Robert, or Bob as he was known by his many, many friends. He passed away suddenly but peacefully last week in his home near Lake Audy, Manitoba. I want to offer, on behalf of the Conservative Party, our appreciation to Bob's family for sharing him with us, particularly his beloved wife, whom he often referred to so proudly as the inestimable Caroline."
Leslie continued to remark about Sopuck as a great parliamentarian and a great man and became somewhat emotional when noting that he and his wife were married this past Saturday and were were expecting Sopuck and his wife to be with them.
He notes he was hired by Sopuck in 2016 after quote a very robust interview process where he went to his office and spoke about life in politics for about two hours over a Scotch.
"He cared about the person, not the resume. And little did I know at that time the profound impact that he would have on my life. Bob was described by a newspaper that he surely never read -- the Toronto Star -- as the right-wing environmentalist, which is actually a very good way to describe him. But he wasn't an environmentalist. He was a conservationist. He believes that those who live, work, and play on the land are our best conservationists and the true environmentalists. He recognized the value of modern agriculture, of ranching, of natural resource developments, and all of the rural communities that those industries support. He was an avid outdoorsman, a true conservationist himself, and perhaps the strongest advocate that hunters, anglers, and trappers in Canada have ever had."
Leslie noted that the late MP held a wide variety of careers in land, water, and wildlife conservation, having worked as a fisheries biologist with both the provincial and federal levels before he decided he wanted to purchase a beautiful, sprawling piece of farm near Lake Audy, just south of his beloved National Park Riding Mountain National Park, where he went on to with his own hands, build a beautiful, secluded log home.
He descried Sopuck as a brilliant communicator who knew how important effective communications were, that words matter, and he was brilliant not because he was suave or a fast talking salesman-type of person, but because he was authentic, honest, and thoughtful.
Leslie quoted Sopuck as having said that if you give up fat, sugar, and alcohol, too, you may not live longer; it will just feel that way.
Another more serious quote was how life is about chapters. You have to turn the page on one before you can start the next. Nothing lasts forever and nothing stays the same.
"Bob, I'm going to miss you. I thought we had more calls. I thought we had more business at the farm ahead of us. But I will be forever grateful for all you've done for me. In closing, I want to share a quote from one of Bob's favourite writers, Henry David Thoreau. 'I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately to front only the essential facts of life and see if I could not learn from what it had to teach, and not when I came to die, only to discover that I had not lived.' You lived, Bob, and you lived well. You are a great Canadian and you will live on in all of us that had the privilege to know you. I can't think of any higher achievement, any higher recognition of a life well live than having those who know you proudly say after you're gone. We lost one of the good ones, but I'm happy I knew him. You achieved that, Bob. We will miss you and we will never forget you."