Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the members on both sides of the House for the warm welcome they have given me this afternoon.
Her Excellency the Governor General has read the Speech from the Throne. I have no doubt all of my colleagues in this House would like her to know how moved they were by the great dignity with which she read it.
I would like, if I may, to congratulate as well the member for Northumberland on the excellent speech he has just delivered. His interest in Canada and his hopes for the future do him honour.
I would like to thank our Prime Minister for honouring Laval East by asking me to second the motion for an Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne. It is a real joy for me, especially since, for a number of years, in the mid 1980s, I sat way up in the press gallery following the proceedings of the House. I loved every minute of it. I can understand why the journalists who were there at the time are still there today.
It is therefore a real delight to find myself here on the floor of the House of Commons and, although I have come down from the stands to be here, I consider it a promotion.
Let us not forget that, during the latest election, our friends opposite, the hon. members of the Bloc, tried unsuccessfully to present themselves as the sole defenders of Quebec. The people of Laval East gave me a majority, and this government has received its third mandate in a row—