Funeral today in Montreal for Senate Speaker Pierre Claude Nolin

MONTREAL – Funeral services for Senate Speaker Pierre Claude Nolin are scheduled to be held today at Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica.

He died a week ago at age 64 after a five-year battle with a rare form of cancer and not long after the upper chamber said his health had recently taken an abrupt turn.

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Nolin became Speaker last November and was appointed to the chamber in 1993 by then-prime minister Brian Mulroney, who called him “a very entertaining and warm and friendly guy.”

Nolin was the unanimous choice of senators, who saw him as a smart, respected, open-minded man who could steer the upper chamber through the final chapters of the expenses scandal.

Nolin’s death comes in the midst of the trial of suspended Sen. Mike Duffy, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of allegedly filing fraudulent living and travel expense claims.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be among those addressing today’s service.