Mr. Speaker, I wish to express appreciation to the hon. member for Don Valley East and acknowledge his outstanding 25 year long contribution to public life as an MP.
We have all won or lost our share of elections. The member for Don Valley East contested seven federal elections, winning five of those. He was first elected to the House in 1974 in the Trudeau government and went on to serve under four different prime ministers. During his time in office, he distinguished himself as minister of national defence, minister of veterans affairs, minister of transport and minister of state for multiculturalism.
The House of Commons and this great country of ours will miss the member for Don Valley East as he leaves the political arena. Please join with me in applauding the hon. member, who in addition to his exemplary service, will be receiving his master of arts degree from York University this weekend.