A columnist and commentator on the Canadian political landscape is calling Premier Andrew Furey ‘the best of Canadians.”

Furey last week announced his intention to step out of the political realm and return to the operating theatre.

Evan Solomon, a columnist, political journalist, radio host and publisher says Furey’s whole life has been focused on public service, whether as a surgeon, with his work on the ground in Haiti, or as an elected official.

He says political life is hard, especially in recent years.

“Like it sucks, okay, for their families” Solomon told the Tim Powers Show on VOCM. “The current corrosive environment is really hard on people, and I get there’s a lot of partisanship and distrust…and that’s the weather system we’re in now.”

“It’s a hail storm in politics and he’s weathered a lot of that really well. So hats off to him, I think he’s served the province and the country extremely well, and he’s a role model for a lot of people who enter the public service at the right time, and then leave public service.”