Mr. Speaker, it is an absolute honour for me to stand in the chamber today and to speak to the Speech from the Throne. I would like to acknowledge and thank my colleague for the wonderful speech he made this morning, and for his response to many of those questions that are certainly important to people in our country.
I am going to start by thanking the people of my constituency, the people of Labrador, whom I am so proud to represent in this chamber as their member of Parliament. They re-elected me in the last election, and they did so with a number of issues in mind. They elected me with the best of intentions and tremendous hope for change that would happen for them, as it would for many other Canadians across the country. I want to acknowledge the hard work of many of my volunteers who went out every day over this long gruelling campaign, but certainly never relented in their mission because they believed there could be better. They believed in a stronger Canada, and they worked so hard for that.
I want to acknowledge my friends and my family for their love, support, and commitment that they have continued to show me in political life over the years. I certainly am very grateful for all of that, and I give thanks for those blessings.
I am pleased to stand here today as part of a new and exciting government in this country. Under the leadership of our Prime Minister, we have committed to work hard for Canadians. We have committed to work hard on their behalf for the issues that are important to them in their communities, in their towns and cities, within their families, and within their professional lives. Canadians were engaged on all of the serious issues that are facing our country, and they were looking for the kind of leadership that would matter, the kind of leadership that at the end of the day would include creating jobs, growing the economy, strengthening the middle class, and, most important, creating a Canada that would be inclusive, accepting, and fair to all Canadians.
I come from a riding in Labrador that is made up of a number of indigenous groups, both Inuit and first nations. It is an area that has played home to allied countries from around the world, more than seven allied countries over our history. We have become a region in northern Canada that has looked with optimism instead of pessimism. We are a region that has advanced despite our challenges, and we are a region that is focused on greater opportunity for the future.
We are lucky to be in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, one that I am so proud to say will be represented by the leadership of Premier Dwight Ball and his Liberal government over the next four years. I want to congratulate Premier Ball for his hard work and efforts on behalf of all the people of our province, and for laying out a wonderful mandate that is reflective of the issues and concerns of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. I want to thank him and his team for giving the people of our province real choice for real change in this past election.
I want to acknowledge and recognize the MHAs who were elected in my riding: the member for Cartwright—L'Anse au Clair, Lisa Dempster; the member for Torngat Mountains, Randy Edmunds; the member for Labrador West, Graham Letto; and the member for Lake Melville, Perry Trimper. I want to congratulate each of them and to say that I am looking forward to working with them to improve the lives of the people we collectively represent in the riding of Labrador.
I am also very happy to be joined by six very strong members of Parliament from Newfoundland and Labrador. Having a strong team of colleagues to work with in our province makes our job so much easier. I want to recognize and congratulate each of them on their election: the members of Parliament for St. John's South—Mount Pearl, Avalon, St. John's East, Long Range Mountains, Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, and Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame. Join me in congratulating all of them on their election to the House of Commons.
As my colleague, the member for St. John's South—Mount Pearl, mentioned in his speech today, we will be reopening the marine resource centre in St. John's, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The centre was closed three years ago by the previous government without proper consultation with the people in our province. It was done at the peril of those who work and live by the sea and earn a living from this sea-based island. All of the people who work in the offshore oil and fishing industries depend upon the safety and security of a proper search and rescue capacity and the ability to have someone to call, and someone to answer to the call, in a time of crisis. I am proud that our government will be reinstating the search and rescue centre in Newfoundland and Labrador. We will also work to improve search and rescue services throughout our province and country to ensure that Canadians, whether they work on the sea or the land, have the protection of a search and rescue service and someone to respond in their time of need.
I represent an area that has a very diverse culture, which I will speak to for a few minutes.
We are home to 5 Wing Goose Bay, one of Canada's wonderful air force bases. It is a military base that has operated to serve not only Canada but many of our allies around the world. It has provided training to Italian, European, German, Netherlands, United States, and Great Britain forces. It continues to offer training to many of the allied countries that want to continue training in that part of our country, and we have seen a lot of that training happen. It is part of the NORAD exercise that will be carried out over the next five years in Canada. We are delighted to be a part of that program, and to support the military with respect to its efforts in our community and region in carrying out the important work that it does on behalf of all of our armed forces.
I come from a long line of military personnel. I have never served in the military myself, but I have a number of family members who have served and continue to serve, both in the Canadian air force and navy, and also in the RCMP. I know first-hand the valuable services that these front-line people provide to our country. Today, as I recognize those members of my family, I also recognize those members in all families across the country who work hard to protect our rights and freedoms and our country. I congratulate them.
I also come from an area that is inhabited by tremendous indigenous people who are proud of their culture, and proud to be the indigenous people of this great country. They work hard each and every day to make gains, both in their Inuit culture and in their first nations lands.
Our government has made a strong commitment to indigenous people. I could not be prouder than I am today to stand in this House and recognize that our government will undertake a review of nation-to-nation governance and the relationships between Canada and our indigenous people. It is a remarkable commitment by our government, and I look forward to ensuring that we work diligently with all indigenous people in this country to make this happen.
There is so much that I would like to speak to today, but time will not permit me. However, just like in many ridings across the north and many rural ridings across Canada, I want to outline a number of the needs in my riding that we would like to have met.
I can commit to the House that I, as one member, along with many of my colleagues on both sides of the House of Commons, will be working harder to address issues around telecommunications, Internet, broadband and cellular service; transportation and air and road connections; housing; and around creating jobs and growing the economy of northern and rural regions.
I look forward to serving the people of my riding, and many others, for the next four years on those issues that are of critical importance in developing our country and allowing everyone a fair opportunity to grow and succeed.