Mr. Speaker, the dean of Parliament, the hon. Senator Marcel Prud'homme from Montreal, a member of the Privy Council, will retire in just a few days' time, on November 30, the day he turns 75.
After spending 45 years, 9 months and 20 days as a member of the House who won nine consecutive elections from 1964 to 1993 in Saint-Denis as a Liberal and as an independent senator since May 26, 1993, he leaves us as the corporate memory of Parliament. Senator Prud'homme is a proud French-Canadian nationalist who has always believed and still believes in our federation, and he was a true patriot when it came to defending Canadian interests on the international scene.
Marcel Prud'homme's political vision of a more just world and his fight for nuclear disarmament, peace in the Middle East and gender equality are a political legacy that we must preserve.
I wish Senator Prud'homme a wonderful retirement and every success in his future endeavours.