Madam Speaker, first, I congratulate the constituents of the hon. member for Sackville--Eastern Shore on receiving the award he mentioned.
The only advice I can give is the following. This Parliament is the home of everybody. There is no class distinction here. I come from the most humble of beginnings and some of my colleagues on both sides of the House come from the uppermost crust of society. However, once we enter this room, we are all the same. There is no distinction anymore. It changes completely, to the point that if one comes here with a professional title such as a doctor, it is not used in the House. It is a reflection of the equality we all have.
The only distinctions are the ones conferred by this institution and its governments, such as Honourable for those of us who are privy councillors, et cetera. Otherwise, other titles totally disappear. To me that is the proof that we are all equal as MPs as we must be in order to effectively represent the wishes of our constituents, regardless of our individual socio-economic backgrounds.
When I was elected in 1984, I believe I was the only House administration employee in Canadian history ever to have been elected to this place. Twenty-one years later I do not know of any other who has even run, let alone been elected. Not only do the junior employees and other employees work here but this is their home too. They have a right to ask the people of Canada to represent them here. I hope other employees, whether they be busboys, pages or other employees of this great institution, some day run and represent their constituents in what Mr. Diefenbaker said is the highest court in the land, the Parliament of Canada.