Mr. Speaker, after 40 years of public life, it is fitting today to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the election--when he was 29 years old--of the right hon. member for Saint-Maurice.
His list of achievements is long. As a backbencher he proposed a change in name from Trans-Canada Airlines to Air Canada and the adoption of Canada's flag, the maple leaf. As a minister in the Pearson and Trudeau cabinets he advanced the cause of Canada's pension plan, medicare, official bilingualism, nationals parks, and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
As Prime Minister for a decade, his government has supported the United Nations, multilateralism, the Kyoto protocol, the International Criminal Court and given leadership in health, education, research, innovation, aid to Africa and referendum law at home. He has led trade delegations to Asia and Europe to reduce Canada's economic dependence on the United States. Finally, his stand on Iraq has ensured that Canada is not involved in an unwanted war.
I would like to congratulate the right hon. member for Saint-Maurice.