Mr. Speaker, I rise this afternoon to pay tribute to Major-General Maurice Gaston Cloutier's 50 years of service to Canada. I do not know him as Major-General Cloutier, however, but as Gus Cloutier.
He is a very competent man, with a keen sense of humour, who has been a friend to all the members of this House for a great many years. He is a great raconteur and a man of action who has served the House of Commons and his country well.
He was a Major-General in the Canadian Air Force from 1952 to 1978. He was appointed sergeant-at-arms in 1978, and Canadian Secretary to Her Majesty the Queen.
His talents were extremely well utilized in the last visit of Her Majesty, the Queen, and many others and he has done all these jobs with great class and competence.
I was here when we had two members of Parliament and two secretaries in one office. This has expanded a lot, and Gus Cloutier has helped to do that very well. He introduced modern equipment and helped the members to be in a better position to communicate among themselves and with their constituents.
Here is a Canadian who has served his country extremely well and at the same time he made a friend of every member of Parliament since 1978. Bien fait.