Madam Speaker, I as well must say what a pleasure it is to have you in the chair. Congratulations on your position.
In regard to the hon. member's comments on the throne speech, I must preface my remarks by saying that I highly value the contribution the member has brought to the House of Commons, but earlier we heard from one of the members on the backbenches of the Liberal side who gave us a great discussion about the crisis in our farm industry. Right now we have a grave situation facing our family farmers throughout the country. It is the same situation that is facing our family fishermen. I would like the hon. member to address why the throne speech was so silent on those very important issues which face so many rural Canadians in Canada.