Mr. Speaker as my time in this place draws to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to thank God for all the gifts he has bestowed upon me. I thank the constituents of Northumberland—Quinte West for putting their faith in me as their federal representative in the 39th, 40th and 41st Parliament. Of course, I would not be here without the tireless efforts of our EDA and volunteers in all those elections. My thanks to the fine folks who, under your command, make this a great place to work. To my staff, I give heartfelt thanks. They are the reason we have such a good reputation in the riding.
To my wife Judith Irene Bangs, she is the reason I said yes to public life. We could not have been successful without the support of my sons James and Matthew, their wives Jennifer and Shawnda and the greatest grandchildren a grandpa could ever have: Macee, Ben, Luke and Fisher. The four of them make Grandpa and Yadda very proud, and we love them so very much.