Mr. Speaker, as we approach the end of the year in which Canada has celebrated its 150th birthday, we have much to be thankful for.
Thankful for the blessings of freedom, peace, and abundance. We should not take these blessings for granted, but we should guard against their erosion.
Broadcaster Paul Harvey noted that many of the world's great nations were at the height of their greatness at the 150-year mark before they decayed morally, socially, culturally, and economically.
Rights without responsibility and freedoms without restraint are recipes for disaster.
We must be careful not to rewrite history and imply that our own forefather's intentions were somehow less noble than our own.
We cannot afford to replace the rewards of the ambitious with reliance on the state.
We must emphasize the family as the core of a strong society, not government.
Canada is a nation founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law. We must continually recognize the absolutes of good and evil, right and wrong.
As we look toward 2018, let us commit to re-embrace the principles that have made Canada great.