Mr. Speaker, I rise in this august House for the first time and I do so for two reasons.
First, I want to thank the Ottawa-Vanier constituents who gave me their support during the February 13 byelection, thus granting me the privilege of representing them in the House of Commons. I am very grateful to them for doing so and I will do my best to meet and even exceed their expectations.
The second reason is to encourage the ministry to consider an additional measure to assist communities throughout the land, particularly in the national capital region which will be seriously affected by the implementation of the program review.
The suggestion is simply that the commercialization of any public service position be conditional on that position being retained in its community of origin for at least five years. This would allow the affected individual time to adjust to his or her new work environment without having to worry about being forced to move to another part of the country.
I am very pleased that the President of the Treasury Board has agreed to seriously consider this suggestion.