Mr. Speaker, I, as well, will not be running again in the next election. I want to take this opportunity, first of all, of thanking the community of Regina and the constituents there who have been re-electing me.
Our family came from the camps of southeast Asia to Regina, Saskatchewan in the early fifties and that community has honoured me by re-electing me since 1979.
The House of Commons is a tremendous institution that serves Canada well. It does need to change and as an organic institution I am sure it will. In the future I hope that some members will come here through proportional representation because the voices of hundreds of thousands of Canadians are not heard in this Parliament because of our electoral system.
Also, I hope in the future that the committee system will be strengthened because it is in the committee system that ordinary members of Parliament, regardless of what political party they are from or whether they are in the government or in the opposition,
can have an opportunity of making a contribution in developing the laws of this land.
I suggest that those two reforms are needed. I hope that this institution will serve Canada for many more years to come.