The news that Loyola Hearn would not seek re-election in his St. John's South-Mount Pearl riding broke late last week and was not entirely unexpected. Hearn, who finished his career in Ottawa as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, is, so far as I can tell, widely admired among his colleagues, the press, and others. He's a good egg and Parliament would be better off with more like him in it.
Hearn has been the point man in his province in fending off the attacks from the nominally Conservative premier there. I reproduce, below, Hearn's farewell statement and you very much get the sense that he'd dearly love to have a crack at Danny Billions:
After two decades of elected service to Newfoundland and Labrador and my country, I will not run in the next federal election.
I want to thank everyone who has supported me over the years, and who gave me the honour of serving as their elected member at both the provincial and federal levels. But most of all, I want to thank Maureen and my children for their tireless support. People often only see the public figure, but family members give up so much to support those in public office. Their love and patience is a real blessing, and I look forward to spending more time with them and my grandchildren.
While it is admittedly tempting to throw my hat in the ring one more time to fight the misinformation campaign underway in our province, I told my family after the 2006 election that it would be my last as a candidate.
I support Prime Minister Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada, and I look forward to helping them win the upcoming election, and then to continuing to serve my province and my country however I can in the future
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