Toronto: The state funeral for Jim Flaherty took place at Toronto’s downtown St. James Cathedral. Flaherty, 64, died of a massive heart attack last Thursday. Canada’s political elite paid their final respects to the former finance
minister.
Harper remembered Flaherty fondly saying “as a human being, he was the complete package.He was a man who was highly principled and ruthlessly pragmatic, combative but engaging, smart – very smart – and educated, while never assuming that he knew it all. “But in all seriousness, it is a fact that Jim, as fiercely partisan as he was – and he was – was also genuinely liked and respected by his opponents, liked by his enemies “However, when all is said and done, Jim’s most important contribution to our country, without doubt, came by virtue of his long service as Minister of Finance, especially by virtue of being Minister of Finance during and after the great global recession of 2008-2009.
