Provincial NDP leader Jim Dinn released a statement this week honouring the memory of former federal NDP leader Ed Broadbent.

Broadbent died Thursday at the age age of 87. He led the federal NDP in Parliament from 1975 to 1989.

“It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the death of Ed Broadbent,” Dinn said in a statement.

“Former leader of the federal New Democratic Party, and founder of the Broadbent Institute, Ed was a tireless champion of social justice, equality, and the eradication of child poverty.

“In 1989, Ed, in his last action and last speech as the leader of the NDP, put forward a motion to work together to end child poverty by the year 2000. His motion was unanimously adopted by Parliament.

“In November 2014, while attending a board meeting of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation in Ottawa, I met with two Grade 5 students and their teacher from Beachy Cove Elementary. They were the Newfoundland and Labrador delegates to a national anti-poverty student summit convened by Keep the Promise to coincide with the 25th anniversary of Ed’s motion and to inspire society and government to renew their commitment to eliminating child poverty.

“Child poverty still exists, but Ed’s dream lives on. Compassionate and courageous individuals continue the work to make his dream a reality for all children. New Democrats in Newfoundland and Labrador believe in Ed’s legacy. It’s one of the reasons why we fought to get a guaranteed basic income committee and are working on seeing it through to fruition. Let’s all work to Keep the Promise.”