Mr. Speaker, on August 15, 1988, I came to Ottawa to serve as a parliamentary page. It was the first time I had the privilege of setting foot on the green carpet of the House of Commons.
Little did I know that 27 years later, I would have the privilege of representing my constituents in the House of Commons as the member for Hull—Aylmer.
I must admit that I was a huge politics nerd from a very early age. I was a Hansard subscriber at age 14. Who does that?
At the time, I was reading the great debates that were happening in the House. I came to know these people I never met but came to know through Hansard, the Joe Clarks, the Nelson Riises and the George Bakers, their wit and intelligence coming through.
Aside from having the great privilege of being a page, what I will take from this chamber is an emotional time that happened here, and that was when Mauril Bélanger took the Speaker's chair.
We are not owners of this House. We are just stewards. We are just passing through. Let us take care of it while workers take care of this building over the next 10 years.