Mr. Speaker, it is with great privilege and honour that I pass on 80th birthday wishes to Canada's 15th prime minister, the Right Hon. Pierre Elliott Trudeau.
First elected as a member in 1965, Mr. Trudeau served as minister of justice under the leadership of Prime Minister Pearson. A dashing, charismatic politician, he was elected leader of the Liberal Party of Canada in 1968 and in April sworn in as Canada's 15th prime minister.
During 16 years of Trudeaumania, he reformed Canada. The government passed the Official Languages Act, fought the separatist terrorists in Quebec during the October crisis and introduced the metric system in Canada. He was devoted to national unity in opposition to the separatist goals of the Parti Quebecois.
On behalf of the Government of Canada, I wish to extend birthday greetings to a truly remarkable man and wish him many, many more.