I caught about 5 minutes of the priest's sermon (right word with respect to Anglican priests speaking at funerals?), reciting of prayers and reading by Jim Flaherty's assistant. It was nicely done- the bit I saw- very dignified, and it is a beautiful church. I'm sorry to have missed the earlier tributes.

i liked the roast

it was an enjoyable celebration of life

i wish that the announcers had stfu though....yappyappyappityyapyap

I was busy, I missed it.

Here's the full coverage on CBC - 2 hrs. 48 min. (see second video) I hope to watch some of it tomorrow.

 http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/jim-flaherty-hailed-as-a-hero-by-sons-at-state-funeral-1.2611248

Tribute to Jim Flaherty - In Loving Memory

When life fades away

I shall not know fear

For in that last hour

My God will be near.

Just think of the joy

When after all odds

I reach for a hand

And find it God's.

anonymous

Oh my...it was beautiful...and sad, ever so sad. I skipped some parts in the video.

Quote:

''Put your feet up, lay your head back, close your eyes and relax. We will take it from here.'- Quinn Flaherty, Jim Flaherty's son

HUGE TENTS WERE MADE AVAILABLE FOR THE large OVERFLOW AUDIENCE

Along with over 1,800 others, yesterday--a sunny and very cool day in Toronto--I had the privilege of attending the STATE funeral of the former minister of finance, at St. James cathedral, near King and Yonge, Toronto.

By all reports, the late Jim Flaherty, dead at 64, was a fine open-minded, human and humane being--with a deep interest in people is need of help with health issues. I am not sure, but I understand that one of the triplet sons is autistic.

We need more public servants like the honourable Jim Flaherty. Interestingly, in 1944, my own father (born in 1880) died in 1944, when he was 64. Number 7 of 8, I was 14.

The video and sound system was excellent. We felt like we were in the front seats.

RevLindsayking = One of the triplets was bitten by a mosquito and suffered encephalitis or menengitis.

I remember when he was finance minister under the Mike The Hammer Harris's government. Here is a little on that.http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/

If he was a great man, how does one account for his sleazy political associations in both Toronto and Ottawa? Both governments were lying, anti-democratic, devoted to big business, more than slightly dishonest..... Yet he fitted into them confortably.

Graeme, your comments display poor funeral ettiquette. The funeral director's job is to eulogize the deceased.  The funeral is not supposed to be a place where you beat a dead horse.

Semiotics: Greek sēmeiōtikos observant of signs, from sēmeiousthai to interpret signs, from sēmeion sign, from sēma sign.

Pomp and ceremony making manifest the collusion of Church and State? 

A crass exploitation of circumstance to further political ends wholly incommensurate with the gospel ostensibly celebrated in the high and holy ritual?

Obscured and masked by our default inclination to sympathy for a departed person and those most intimately affected by the passing of that person?

George

Fortunately, naman, we are not currently at a funeral.

Well, too bad we never had a formal funeral for Hitler.