I’m saddened to learn of the passing of my friend John McCallum. Throughout his many years in service to Canadians as an academic (he was my Dean of Faculty of Arts at McGill), economist and nearly two decades as a parliamentarian, he helped this country navigate some of its most challenging times. I will never forget how as a cabinet minister he helped me as a new Prime Minister steer the government through the rapid resettlement of tens of thousands of Syrian refugees. He made it happen despite real challenges in an unpredictable time. I’m thinking of his whole family and all his many friends at this difficult time.