THUNDER BAY - A long serving MP was recognized by a local Rotary club with a fellowship award.
Joe Comuzzi was awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship by the Port Arthur Rotary Club of Thunder Bay during a meeting on Tuesday afternoon.
“They are very kind to do this,” Comuzzi said. “It is something I wasn’t expecting. When you go into retirement, you don’t expect things like this. I was very happy to receive it and they were very gracious to have given it to me.”
The Paul Harris Fellowship is named after Rotary founder, Paul Harris. The award was created in 1957 and is meant to recognize those who represent the objectives of Rotary.
“Rotary, of all the service clubs, is one of the longest acting and has more staying power than any of the other clubs,” Comuzzi said. “It has more membership, so it’s been here a long time and they have good people and they are dedicated.”
Also honoured on Tuesday was Roots of Harvest executive director, Erin Beagle, and Rotary members, Fred Baker, Martti Tenander, Pritam Lamba, Meredith Nelson, and Brenda Winter.
Comuzzi, now 84, was first elected to the House of Commons representing the Thunder Bay – Superior North riding in 1988 as a member of the Liberal Party.
Comuzzi was an opponent of the party’s same sex marriage bill and resigned his cabinet position in 2005. In 2007, he was expelled from the Liberal caucus after pledging to support the Conservative budget and he joined the Conservative Party.
