Mr. Speaker, 39 years ago today, I entered this building for the first time as an employee of the House of Commons.
I did not come here initially as an MP, nor as an assistant to a prominent personality. I came here as a busboy in the parliamentary restaurant. It has been an incredible journey, one in which I have been lucky enough to work here as an employee, then to be elected at the municipal, provincial and federal levels and then, subsequently, to be a member of the cabinet. For this, I will be extremely grateful.
This time next year, I will have retired and I will no longer be an MP. So I want to take advantage of the last anniversary of my arrival here to pay tribute to my constituents, my colleagues and the employees of the House of Commons. They, just as much as we parliamentarians, are an integral part of this great and beautiful institution called the Parliament of Canada.