Mr. Speaker, the House leader, in his comments, made some remarks completely out of character about the retiring president of the press gallery and reporter for the Toronto Star, who is returning to Toronto. If I might, I just want to add one or two words on that subject.
When I was in Queen's Park, not exactly parallel to the time that the House leader was there, both while I was in opposition and while I was in government, Mr. Brennan was a very dogged and determined reporter for the Toronto Star.
I must confess that when the people of Ontario thought it would be a better idea if I took a sabbatical from political life in 1995 and I decided to step down as leader of the party in 1996, I thought that I would be saying goodbye to politics and also be saying farewell to Mr. Brennan from the Toronto Star. Imagine my surprise, not to say something else, when I returned to the world of scrums, of impossible questions and aggressive interrogations outside this place, and found that no one but Mr. Brennan would be there acting again on behalf of the Toronto Star.
He is a terrific person and terrific reporter, a person whose integrity and good humour have stood him and all of us who are involved in politics in good stead.
We wish him well on his departure from this place. However, I certainly would not want him to leave without at least saying goodbye this one time and reminding him, as I have in personal correspondence, that 1 Yonge Street happens to be at the very southern point of the riding of Toronto Centre. Thus, once again, I am locked in this very unhealthy embrace with Richard Brennan of the Toronto Star.