According to Geoff Stevens, a former Ottawa columnist and managing editor for the Globe and Mail, “To my mind, Hales was among the finest backbenchers to grace Parliament Hill in the past half-century. He was kind, courteous, considerate and utterly committed to public service.”
Beyond his legislative work, Hales’ legacy to Canadian governance is his key role in spearheading the creation of the Parliamentary Internship Programme (PIP). Prior to the unprecedented agreement by all political parties to permit the establishment of a non-partisan internship under the auspices of the Speaker and administered by the Canadian Political Science Association, young Canadians did not possess the opportunity to learn about Parliament and Canadian Parliamentary institutions from the inside. In fact, when Hales introduced a motion in the House of Commons on March 10, 1969 asking for the creation of such an internship, his idea was indeed revolutionary.
