Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you for that short health break.
I'll just give a few more comments from constituents of mine. This is something I have done a few times now in the House during a late debate. I'm one of those members who asked repeatedly for an emergency debate on the jobs crisis in Alberta. That opportunity exists for members of Parliament to represent their constituents and request something that typically is not given. We did get a take-note debate out of it. Again, that's an opportunity that the government and the opposition have to demonstrate an interest in a particular subject. That agreement was struck by consensus on which day it would be. The government was.... I won't say they were generous, but they saw the wisdom of having a debate on the jobs crisis in the energy sector, and eventually yielded.
At that time, I read many comments left for me by my constituents regarding the difficult time they were having finding jobs. It was one of those opportunities when I, as a parliamentarian, had to represent them.
Just as I did then, I want to read a few more comments left by Canadians who do care what we do here, who do care about the work of parliamentarians, who do care about being well represented.
Marilyn says, “Thank you so much for protecting our democratic rights.” Harold, 40 minutes into this extensive debate we've had, wrote, “The liberals had better realize that the next election Canadians will not elect them again if they keep screwing us Canadians over. How tough is that to figure out”. That's pretty harsh language.
Barb says, 29 minutes in, “Everyone keep talking. Canadians need their voices to be heard.” Lynn says, 20 minutes in, “Keep up the good work. Liberals are clearly lacking in work ethics”. I won't say that about the members before me here. You're doing exemplary work sitting here on this committee at this late hour in order to listen to me continue to discuss this. The PMO may thank you for it. You'll be at the top of the list, perhaps, for parliamentary secretary positions.