Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity, as we approach the end of this parliamentary session, to thank our House of Commons pages who have served us so well. They do so in an honourable, non-partisan fashion. The expression is “They're supposed to be a part of the furniture”, but they are certainly much more than that. They help run our daily operations on a very smooth basis.
I want to thank all the pages for the hard work they have undertaken this year. I think I speak for all members on all sides of the House when I say it is a pleasure to be surrounded by bright young people who have such a keen interest in serving their country and in serving us in the House of Commons.
I hope, as this year wraps up, they will look back on it as an historic and interesting year with many fond memories. Some members have heard me say it before that my own wife was a page. She always says that it was the best year of her life, thus far at least. Many other pages have expressed the exact same sentiment.
This is an historic Parliament for another reason. Although the page program has existed for many years, in this 41st Parliament it is the first time I believe we have had pages who have actually been elected to become members of Parliament. There are two former pages who sit among us as members of Parliament.
I want to thank them and wish them the very best. My thanks for their work this year. I wish them all the best success in the future.