OTTAWA -- A Conservative MP stung by the sudden death of colleague Gord Brown is handing out pill case keychains on Parliament Hill, urging everyone he sees to carry a couple of potentially life-saving aspirin.
Rob Nicholson says that after Brown's fatal collapse earlier this month in his Parliament Hill office, he felt the need to do something -- so Nicholson went online and ordered hundreds of the keychains to hand out on the Hill and in his Niagara Falls riding.
Nicholson wants to encourage others to follow suit, arguing that people are more likely to carry the keychains than a bottle of pills from their medicine cabinet.
Nicholson announced the initiative today alongside Brown's widow, Claudine Courtois.
He says the idea is to have aspirin on hand at all times, to be chewed when the symptoms strike -- a measure that's known to buy heart attack victims precious minutes before help arrives.
Nicholson says he was at a conference a few years back when he heard about others carrying aspirin keychains, and was inspired to carry one himself.
He also says it would be an "excellent idea" for the House of Commons to install defibrillators, something he's heard from others over the years.
Following his news conference, Nicholson handed a keychain to Liberal MP Celina Caesar-Chavannes.
"Love it," she said, adding, "You always know where your keys are."
