Mr. Speaker, two years ago today, on October 25, 1993, the people of Canada sent 52 Reform MPs to Ottawa. They did so because we as a party promised to put their interests as constituents first. Today my Reform colleagues and I thank our constituents for helping us to keep that promise.
A special thanks goes out to the people of Lethbridge constituency for participating in the first leg of my annual fall tour. In places like Diamond City, Picture Butte, Nobleford and Milk River they talked about issues that were important to them, things like jobs, pensions, agriculture and certainly the referendum.
They told me about their hopes and their fears. They reminded me what it meant to be their representative in Ottawa. The main streets and the coffee shops of southern Alberta are a long way from Parliament Hill.
Many of my constituents will never have the opportunity to visit the nation's capital, but the Reform Party believes that by effectively representing their interests in this House of Commons we will be able to bridge that distance.